.^AI6 

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EXPOSITIONS  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE 


E-xpositions  of  Holy  Scripture 

A  Commentary  on  the  Entire  Bible 
to  be  Completed  in  Thirty  Volumes 

ALEXANDER    MACLAREN,    D.D..    LIT.D. 

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FIRST   SERIES,   SIX  VOLUMES 

Isaiah  Jeremiah  St.  Matthevt  (3  vols.) 


SECOND   SERIES,   SIX  VOLUMES 
Exodus,  Leviticus  and  Numbers  Deuteronomy,  Joshua 

Judges  and  Ruth  Samuel  St.  Mark  (2  vols.) 


THE   BOOKS    OF 

EXODUS,  LEVITICUS 
AND  NUMBERS 


BY 

ALEXANDER    MACLAREN 

D.D.,  LiTT.D. 


NEW    YORK 
A.   C.   ARMSTRONG   AND   SON 

3  AND  5  WEST  i8th  STREET 

LONDON:  HODDER  AND  STOUGHTON 
1907 


CONTENTS 


THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS 

FAOE 

PotTB  Shaping  Centuries  (Exodus  i.  1-14)  .  •  ,1 

Death  and  Growth  (Exodus  i.  6,  7)  .  •  .5 

The  Ark  among  the  Flags  (Exodus  ii.  1-10)  •  .       12 

The  Bush  that  burned,  and  did  not  burn  out  (Exodus 

iii.  2)        .......       19 

The  Call  of  Moses  (Exodus  iii.  10-20)         .  .  .26 

A  Last  Merciful  Warning  (Exodus  xi.  1-10)         .  .       33 

The  Passover  :  an  Expiation  and  a  Feast,  a  Memorial 

AND  A  Prophecy  (Exodus  xii.  1-14)       .  .  .38 

Thought,  Deed,  Word  (Exodus  xiii.  9)        ,  .  .46 

A  Path  in  the  Sea  (Exodus  xiv.  19-31)       .  .  ,52 

•  My  Strength  and  Song  '  (Exodus  xv.  2)  ,  ,  .61 

The  Shepherd  and  the  Fold  (Exodus  xv.  13)  .  .       61 

The  Ultimate  Hope  (Exodus  xv.  17)  .  .  ,68 


yi  CONTENTS 


PACU 

64 


Makah  (Exodus  XV.  23-25)     •  .  «  « 

The  Bbbad  of  God  (Exodus  zvi.  4-12)         •            •  •  65 

Jehovah  Nissi  (Exodus  xvii.  16)      •  •  •  •72 

Gbbshou  and  Elibzeb  (Exodus  xviii.  8,  4)              •  •  80 

The  iDEAii  Statesman  (Exodus  xviii.  21)    •             •  •  88 

The  Decalogue  :— I.  Man  and  God  (Exodus  zx.  1-11)  •  07 

The  Decalogue  :— II.  Man  and  Man  (Exodus  xx.  12-21)  .  107 

The  Feast  of  Ingathering  in  the  end  of  the  Yeab 

(Exodus  xxiii.  16)  •  •  •  •  •      115 

'  The  Love  of  Thine  Ebfousalb  '  (Exodus  xxIt.  1-12)        •     118 

The  Bread  of  the  Prbbence  (Exodus  xxt.  SO)     •  .126 

The  Golden  Lampbtand  (Exodus  xxy.  81)  .  •  •     134 

The   Names  on  Aaron's  Bbbabtplatb  (Exodus  xxTiii. 

12,29)     .  .  •  .  .  .  .144 

Three  Inscriptions  with  one  Mbaning  (Exodus  xxviii.  86 ; 

Zech.  xiv.  20 ;  Bev.  xxii.  4)  •  •  •  .      161 

The  Altar  of  Incbnse  (Exodus  zxx.  1)     •            •  •160 

Ransom  for  Souls— I.  (Exodus  xxx.  12)      .            •  •     168 

Ransom  for  Souls— II.  (Exodus  xxx.  16)  .            •  •      170 

The  Golden  Oalf  (Exodus  xxxii.  1-8,  30-35)             •  .171 

The  Swift  Dboay  of  Love  (Exodus  xxxii.  16-26)   .  •     177 


CONTENTS  vii 

PAGE 

The  Mediator's  Threefold  Prater  (Exodus  xxxiii.  12-23)      186 

God  Proci^aiming  His  own  Name  (Exodus  xxxiv.  6)  •      195 

Sin  and  Forgiveness  (Exodus  xxxiv.  7)     •  •  .     199 

Blessed  and  Tragic  Unconsciousness  (Exodus  xxxiv.  29 ; 

Judges  xvi.  20)    •  •  •  •  •  .      204 

An  Old  Subscription  List  (Exodus  xxxv.  21)        •  •     213 

Thb  Copies  ok  Things  in  the  Heavens  (Exodus  xl.  1-16)       223 

THE  BOOK  OP  LEVITICUS 

The  Burnt  Ofvbrino  a.  Picture  and  a  Prophecy  (Lev. 

i.  1-9)       •  •  •  •  .  •  .233 

Strange  Fibb  (Lev.  x.  1-11)  •  •  •  ,240 

The  First  Stage  in  the  Leper's  Cleansing  (Lev.  xiv,  1-7)      247 

The  Dat  op  Atonement  (Lev.  xvi.  1-19)     .  •  •     2.8 

*  Thb  Scapegoat  '  (Lev.  xvL  22)       •  .  .  .254 

Thb  Consecration  of  Jot  (Lev.  xxiii.  3344)  .  ,261 

SojoxTRNBRS  WITH  GoD  (Lev.  XXV.  23)  .  .  .269 

God's  Slaves  (Lev.  zxv.  42)  ...  .  •     270 


VIU 


CONTENTS 


The  Kinsman  Redeemer  (Lev.  xxv.  48)      . 
The  Old  Store  and  the  New  (Lev.  xxvi.  10) 
Emancipated  Slaves  (Lev.  xxvi.  13)   .        . 


PAaB 
,      280 

.      284 

.      291 


THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS 

The  Warfare  of  Christian  Service  (Num.  iv.  23)  .     297 

The  Guiding  Pillar  (Num.  ix.  16) .             ,            .  .      305 

HoBAB  (Num.  X.  29)  .              ,              .              .              ,  ,314 
The  Hallowing  op  Work  and  of  Rest  (Num.  x.  35,  36) .     321 

Moses  Despondent  (Num.  xi.  14)     .             .             •  ,     329 

Afraid  of  Giants  (Num.  xiii.  17-33)            .            ,  ,332 

Weighed,  and  Found  Wanting  (Num.  xiv.  1-10)  .  .     340 


Moses  the  Intercessor  (Num.  xiv.  19)       . 
Service  a  Gift  (Num.  xviii.  7)         ,  • 

The  Waters  of  Meribah  (Num.  xx.  1-13) 
The  Poison  and  the  Antidote  (Num.  xxi.  4-9) 
Balaam  (Num.  xxii.  5)  •  •  • 

An  Unfulfilled  Desire  (Num.  xxiii.  10 ;  xxxi.  8) 


.  349 

,  352 

.  353 

,  362 

.  367 

.  371 


THE    BOOK    OF    EXODUS 


FOUR  SHAPING  CENTURIES 

'  Now  thme  are  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which  came  Into  Egypt : 
every  man  and  his  household  came  with  Jacoh.  2.  Reuhen,  Simeon,  Levi,  and 
Judah,  3.  Issachar,  Zebulun,  and  Benjamin,  4.  Dan  and  Naphtali,  Gad  and 
Asher.  5.  And  all  the  souls  that  came  out  of  the  loins  of  Jacob  were  seventy 
souls :  for  Joseph  was  in  Egypt  already.  6.  And  Joseph  died,  and  all  his  brethren, 
and  all  that  generation.  7.  And  the  children  of  Israel  were  fruitful,  and  increased 
abundantly,  and  multiplied,  and  waxed  exceeding  mighty;  and  the  land  was 
filled  with  them.  8.  Now  there  arose  up  a  new  king  over  Egypt,  which  knew 
not  Joseph.  9.  And  he  said  unto  his  people.  Behold,  the  people  of  the  children 
of  Israel  are  more  and  mightier  than  we :  10.  Come  on,  let  us  deal  wisely  with 
them ;  lest  they  multiply,  and  it  come  to  pass,  that,  when  there  falleth  out  any 
war,  they  join  also  unto  our  enemies,  and  flght  against  us,  and  so  get  them  up 
out  of  the  land.  11.  Therefore  they  did  set  over  them  taskmasters  to  afflict  them 
with  their  burdens.  And  they  built  for  Pharaoh  treasure-cities,  Pithom  and 
Raamses.  12.  But  the  more  they  afflicted  them,  the  more  they  multiplied  and 
grew.  And  they  were  grieved  because  of  the  children  of  Israel.  13.  And  the 
Egyptians  made  the  children  of  Israel  to  serve  with  rigour:  14.  And  they  made 
their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage,  in  mortar,  and  in  brick,  and  in  all  manner 
of  service  in  the  field:  all  their  service,  wherein  they  made  them  serve,  was 
with  rigour.'— Exodus  i.  1-14. 

The  four  hundred  years  of  Israel's  stay  in  Egypt 
were  divided  into  two  unequal  periods,  in  the  former 
and  longer  of  which  they  were  prosperous  and 
favoured,  while  in  the  latter  they  were  oppressed. 
Both  periods  had  their  uses  and  place  in  the  shaping 
of  the  nation  and  its  preparation  for  the  Exodus. 
Both  carry  permanent  lessons. 

I.  The  long  days  of  unclouded  prosperity.  These 
extended  over  centuries,  the  whole  history  of  which  is 
summed  up  in  two  words:  death  and  growth.  The 
calm  years  glided  on,  and  the  shepherds  in  Goshen  had 
the  happiness  of  having  no  annals.  All  that  needed  to 
be  recorded  was  that,  one  by  one,  the  first  generation 
died  off,  and  that  the  new  generations  •  were  fruitful, 
and  increased  abundantly,  and  multiplied,  and  waxed 
exceeding  mighty.'    The  emphatic  repetitions  recall  the 

A 


2  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS         [ch.  i. 

original  promises  in  Genesis  xii.  2,  xvii.  4,  5,  xviii.  18. 
The  preceding  specification  of  the  number  of  the 
original  settlers  (repeated  from  Genesis  xlvi.  27)  brings 
into  impressive  contrast  the  small  beginnings  and  the 
rapid  increase.  We  may  note  that  eloquent  setting 
side  by  side  of  the  two  processes  which  are  ever 
going  on  simultaneously,  death  and  birth. 

One  by  one  men  pass  out  of  the  warmth  and  light  into 
the  darkness,  and  so  gradually  does  the  withdrawal 
proceed  that  we  scarcely  are  aware  of  its  going  on,  but 
at  last  'all  that  generation'  has  vanished.  The  old 
trees  are  all  cleared  off  the  ground,  and  everywhere 
their  place  is  taken  by  the  young  saplings.  The  web 
is  ever  being  woven  at  one  end,  and  run  down  at  the 
other.  'The  individual  withers,  but  the  race  is  more  and 
more.'  How  solemn  that  continual  play  of  opposing 
movements  is,  and  how  blind  we  are  to  its  solemnity ! 

That  long  period  of  growth  may  be  regarded  in  two 
lights.  It  effected  the  conversion  of  a  horde  into  a 
nation  by  numerical  increase,  and  so  was  a  link  in  the 
chain  of  the  divine  working.  The  great  increase,  of 
which  the  writer  speaks  so  strongly,  was,  no  doubt, 
due  to  the  favourable  circumstances  of  the  life  in 
Goshen,  but  was  none  the  less  regarded  by  him,  and 
rightly  so,  as  God's  doing.  As  the  Psalmist  sings,  '  He 
increased  His  people  greatly.'  '  Natural  processes '  are 
the  implements  of  a  supernatural  will.  So  Israel  was 
being  multiplied,  and  the  end  for  which  it  was  peace- 
fully growing  into  a  multitude  was  hidden  from  all  but 
God.  But  there  was  another  end,  in  reference  to  which 
the  years  of  peaceful  prosperity  may  be  regarded  ; 
namely,  the  schooling  of  the  people  to  patient  trust  in 
the  long-delayed  fulfilment  of  the  promise.  That  hope 
had  burned  bright  in  Joseph  when  he  died,  and   he 


vs.  1-14]    FOUR  SHAPING  CENTURIES         3 

being  dead  yet  spake  of  it  from  his  coffin  to  the  suc- 
cessive generations.  Delay  is  fitted  and  intended  to 
strengthen  faith  and  make  hope  more  eager.  But  that 
part  of  the  divine  purpose,  alas !  was  not  effected  as 
the  former  was.  In  the  moral  region  every  circum- 
stance has  two  opposite  results  possible.  Each  con- 
dition has,  as  it  were,  two  handles,  and  we  can  take  it 
by  either,  and  generally  take  it  by  the  wrong  one. 
Whatever  is  meant  to  better  us  may  be  so  used  by  us  as 
to  worsen  us.  And  the  history  of  Israel  in  Egypt  and 
in  the  desert  shows  only  too  plainly  that  ease  weakened, 
if  it  did  not  kill,  faith,  and  that  Goshen  was  so  pleasant 
that  it  drove  the  hope  and  the  wish  for  Canaan  out  of 
mind.  'While  the  bridegroom  tarried  they  all  slum- 
bered and  slept.'  Is  not  Israel  in  Egypt,  slackening 
hold  of  the  promise  because  it  tarried,  a  mirror  in  which 
the  Church  may  see  itself?  and  do  we  not  know  the 
enervating  influence  of  Goshen,  making  us  reluctant 
to  shoulder  our  packs  and  turn  out  for  the  pilgrimage  ? 
The  desert  repels  more  strongly  than  Canaan  attracts. 
II.  The  shorter  period  of  oppression.  Probably  the 
rise  of  a  'new  king'  means  a  revolution  in  which 
a  native  dynasty  expelled  foreign  monarchs.  The 
Pharaoh  of  the  oppression  was,  perhaps,  the  great 
Rameses  II.,  whose  long  reign  of  sixty-seven  years 
gives  ample  room  for  protracted  and  grinding  oppres- 
sion of  Israel.  The  policy  adopted  was  characteristic 
of  these  early  despotL^ms,  in  its  utter  disregard  of 
humanity  and  of  everything  but  making  the  kingdom 
safe.  It  was  not  intentionally  cruel,  it  was  merely 
indifferent  to  the  suffering  it  occasioned.  *  Let  us  deal 
wisely  with  them ' — never  mind  about  justice,  not  to  say 
kindness.  Pharaoh's  'politics,'  like  those  of  some  other 
rulers  who  divorce  them  from  morality,  turned  out  to 


4  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  i. 

be  impolitic,  and  his  'wisdom'  proved  to  be  roundabout 
folly.  He  was  afraid  that  the  Israelites,  if  they  were 
allowed  to  grow,  might  find  out  their  strength  and  seek 
to  emigrate;  and  so  he  set  to  work  to  weaken  them 
with  hard  bondage,  not  seeing  that  that  was  sure  to 
make  them  wish  the  very  thing  that  he  was  blunder- 
ingly trying  to  prevent.  The  only  way  to  make  men 
glad  to  remain  in  a  community  is  to  make  them  at 
home  there.  The  sense  of  injustice  is  the  strongest  dis- 
integrating force.  If  there  is  a  *  dangerous  class,'  the 
surest  way  to  make  them  more  dangerous  is  to  treat 
them  harshly.  It  was  a  blunder  to  make  '  lives  bitter,' 
for  hearts  also  were  embittered.  So  the  people  were 
ripened  for  revolt,  and  Goshen  became  less  attractive. 

God  used  Pharaoh's  foolish  wisdom,  as  He  had  used 
natural  laws,  to  prepare  for  the  Exodus.  The  long 
years  of  ease  had  multiplied  the  nation.  The  period  of 
oppression  was  to  stir  them  up  out  of  their  comfort- 
able nest,  and  make  them  willing  to  risk  the  bold  dash 
for  freedom.  Is  not  that  the  explanation,  too,  of  the 
similar  times  in  our  lives  ?  It  needs  that  we  should 
experience  life's  sorrows  and  burdens,  and  find  how 
hard  the  world's  service  is,  and  how  quickly  our  Goshens 
may  become  places  of  grievous  toil,  in  order  that  the 
weak  hearts,  which  cling  so  tightly  to  earth,  n;iay  be 
detached  from  it,  and  taught  to  reach  upwards  to  God. 
'  Blessed  is  the  man  ...  in  whose  heart  are  thy  ways,' 
and  happy  is  he  who  so  profits  by  his  sorrows  that  they 
stir  in  him  the  pilgrim's  spirit,  and  make  him  yearn 
after  Canaan,  and  not  grudge  to  leave  Goshen.  Our 
ease  and  our  troubles,  opposite  though  they  seem  and 
are,  are  meant  to  further  the  same  end, — to  make  us  fit 
for  the  journey  which  leads  to  rest  and  home.  We 
often  misuse  them  both,  letting  the  one  sink  us  in 


vs.  1-U]       DEATH  AND  GROWTH  5 

earthly  delights  and  oblivion  of  the  great  hope,  and  the 
other  embitter  our  spirits  without  impelling  them  to 
seek  the  things  that  are  above.  Let  us  use  the  one  for 
thankfulness,  growth,  and  patient  hope,  and  the  other 
for  writing  deep  the  conviction  that  this  is  not  our  rest, 
and  making  firm  the  resolve  that  we  will  gird  our  loins 
and,  staff  in  hand,  go  forth  on  the  pilgrim  road,  not 
shrinking  from  the  wilderness,  because  we  see  the 
mountains  of  Canaan  across  its  sandy  flats. 


DEATH  AND  GROWTH 

*And  Joseph  died,  and  all  his  hrethren,  and  all  that  generation.  7.  And  the 
children  of  Israel  were  fruitful,  and  increased  abundantly,  and  multiplied,  and 
waxed  exceeding  mighty.  .  .  .'—Exodus  i.  6,  7. 

These  remarkable  words  occur  in  a  short  section  which 
makes  the  link  between  the  Books  of  Genesis  and  of 
Exodus.  The  writer  recapitulates  the  list  of  the  immi- 
grants into  Egypt,  in  the  household  of  Jacob,  and  then, 
as  it  were,  having  got  them  there,  he  clears  the  stage 
to  prepare  for  a  new  set  of  actors.  These  few  words 
are  all  that  he  cares  to  tell  us  about  a  period  somewhat 
longer  than  that  which  separates  us  from  the  great 
Protestant  Reformation.  He  notes  but  two  processes 
— silent  dropping  away  and  silent  growth.  'Joseph 
died,  and  all  his  brethren,  and  all  that  generation. 
Plant  by  plant  the  leaves  drop,  and  the  stem  rots  and 
its  place  is  empty.  Seed  by  seed  the  tender  green 
spikelets  pierce  the  mould,  and  the  field  waves  luxuriant 
in  the  breeze  and  the  sunshine.  *  The  children  of  Israel 
were  fruitful,  and  increased  abundantly.' 

I.  Now,  then,  let  us  look  at  this  twofold  process  which 
is  always  at  work — silent  dropping  away  and  silent 
growth. 

It  seems  to  me  that   the  writer,  probably  uucon- 


6  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [oh.i. 

sciously,  being  profoundly  impressed  with  certain 
features  of  that  dropping  away,  reproduces  them 
most  strikingly  in  the  very  structure  of  his  sentence  : 
'  Joseph  died,  and  all  his  brethren,  and  all  that  genera- 
tion.' The  uniformity  of  the  fate,  and  the  separate 
times  at  which  it  befell  individuals,  are  strongly  set 
forth  in  the  clauses,  which  sound  like  the  threefold 
falls  of  earth  on  a  coffin.  They  all  died,  but  not  all  at 
the  same  time.  They  went  one  by  one,  one  by  one,  till, 
at  the  end,  they  were  all  gone.  The  two  things  that 
appeal  to  our  imagination,  and  ought  to  appeal  to  our 
consciences  and  wills,  in  reference  to  the  succession  of 
the  generations  of  men,  are  given  very  strikingly,  I 
think,  in  the  language  of  my  text — namely,  the  stealthy 
assaults  of  death  upon  the  individuals,  and  its  final 
complete  victory. 

If  any  of  you  were  ever  out  at  sea,  and  looked  over 
a  somewhat  stormy  water,  you  will  have  noticed,  I 
dare  say,  how  strangely  the  white  crests  of  the  breakers 
disappear,  as  if  some  force,  acting  from  beneath,  had 
plucked  them  under,  and  over  the  spot  where  they 
gleamed  for  a  moment  runs  the  blue  sea.  So  the  waves 
break  over  the  great  ocean  of  time ;  I  might  say,  like 
swimmers  pulled  under  by  sharks,  man  after  man,  man 
after  man,  gets  twitched  down,  till  at  the  end — '  Joseph 
died,  and  all  his  brethren,  and  all  that  generation.' 

There  is  another  process  going  on  side  by  side  with 
this.  In  the  vegetable  world,  spring  and  autumn  are 
two  different  seasons ;  May  rejoices  in  green  leaves  and 
opening  buds,  and  nests  with  their  young  broods ;  but 
winter  days  are  coming  when  the  greenery  drops  and 
the  nests  are  empty,  and  the  birds  flown.  But  the 
singular  and  impressive  thing  (which  we  should  see  if  we 
were  not  so  foolish  and  blind)  which  the  writer  of  our 


vs.  6, 7]         DEATH  AND  GROWTH  7 

text  lays  his  finger  upon  is  that  at  the  same  time  the 
two  opposite  processes  of  death  and  renewal  are  going 
on,  so  that  if  you  look  at  the  facts  from  the  one  side  it 
seems  nothing  but  a  charnel-house  and  a  Golgotha  that 
we  live  in,  while,  seen  from  the  other  side,  it  is  a  scene 
of  rejoicing,  budding  young  life,  and  growth. 

You  get  these  two  processes  in  the  closest  juxtaposi- 
tion in  ordinary  life.  There  is  many  a  house  where 
there  is  a  coffin  upstairs  and  a  cradle  downstairs.  The 
churchyard  is  often  the  children's  playground.  The 
web  is  being  run  down  at  the  one  end  and  woven  at 
the  other.    Wherever  we  look — 

*  Every  moment  dies  a  man. 
Every  moment  one  is  bom.* 

•Joseph  died,  and  all  his  brethren,  and  all  that 
generation.  And  the  children  of  Israel  .  .  .  multiplied 
.  .  .  exceedingly.' 

But  there  is  another  thought  here  than  that  of  the 
contemporaneousness  of  the  two  processes,  and  that  is, 
as  it  is  written  on  John  Wesley's  monument  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  '  God  buries  the  workmen  and  carries 
on  the  work.'  The  great  Vizier  who  seemed  to  be  the 
only  protection  of  Israel  is  lying  in  '  a  coffin  in  Egypt.' 
And  all  these  truculent  brothers  of  his  that  had  tor- 
mented him,  they  are  gone,  and  the  whole  generation 
is  swept  away.  What  of  that  ?  They  were  the  deposi- 
tories of  God's  purposes  for  a  little  while.  Are  God's 
purposes  dead  because  the  instruments  that  in  part 
wrought  them  are  gone  ?  By  no  means.  If  I  might 
use  a  very  vulgar  proverb,  '  There  are  as  good  fish  in 
the  sea  as  ever  came  out  of  it,'  especially  if  God  casts 
the  net.  So  when  the  one  generation  has  passed  away 
there  is  the  other  to  take  up  the  work.  Thus  the  text 
is  a  fitting  introduction  to  the  con^tinuafiice   of   th^ 


8  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.i. 

history  of  the  further  unfolding  of  God's  plan  which 
occupies  the  Book  of  Exodus. 

II.  Such  being  the  twofold  process  suggested  by  this 
text,  let  us  next  note  the  lessons  which  it  enforces. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  be  quite  sure  that  we  give 
it  its  due  weight  in  our  thoughts  and  lives.  Let  us 
be  quite  sure  that  we  never  give  an  undue  weight 
to  the  one  half  of  the  whole  truth.  There  are  plenty 
of  people  who  are  far  too  much,  constitutionally  and 
(perhaps  by  reason  of  a  mistaken  notion  of  religion) 
religiously,  inclined  to  the  contemplation  of  the  more 
melancholy  side  of  these  truths  ;  and  there  are  a  great 
many  people  who  are  far  too  exclusively  disposed  to 
the  contemplation  of  the  other.  But  the  bulk  of  us 
never  trouble  our  heads  about  either  the  one  or  the 
other,  but  go  on,  forgetting  altogether  that  swift, 
sudden,  stealthy,  skinny  hand  that,  if  I  might  go  back 
to  my  former  metaphor,  is  put  out  to  lay  hold  of  the 
swimmer  and  then  pull  him  underneath  the  water, 
and  which  will  clasp  us  by  the  ankles  one  day  and 
drag  us  down.  Do  you  ever  think  about  it  ?  If  not, 
surely,  surely  you  are  leaving  out  of  sight  one  of 
what  ought  to  be  the  formative  elements  in  our  lives. 

And  then,  on  the  other  hand,  when  our  hearts  are 
faint,  or  when  the  pressure  of  human  mortality — our 
own,  that  of  our  dear  ones,  or  that  of  others — seems  to 
weigh  us  down,  or  when  it  looks  to  us  as  it  God's  work 
was  failing  for  want  of  people  to  do  it,  let  us  remember 
the  other  side — 'And  the  children  of  Israel .  .  .  increased 
.  .  .  and  waxed  exceeding  mighty ;  .  .  .  and  the  land 
was  filled  with  them.'  So  we  shall  keep  the  middle 
path,  which  is  the  path  of  safety,  and  so  avoid  the  folly 
of  extremes. 

But  then,  more  particularly,  let  me  say  that  this 


vs.  6, 7]         DEATH  AND  GROWTH  9 

double  contemplation  of  the  two  processes  under  which 
we  live  ought  to  stimulate  us  to  service.  It  ought  to 
say  to  us,  'Do  you  cast  in  your  lot  with  that  work 
which  is  going  to  be  carried  on  through  the  ages.  Do 
you  see  to  it  that  your  little  task  is  in  the  same  line  of 
direction  as  the  great  purpose  which  God  is  working 
out — the  increasing  purpose  which  runs  through  the 
ages.'  An  individual  life  is  a  mere  little  backwater,  as 
it  were,  in  the  great  ocean.  But  its  minuteness  does 
not  matter,  if  only  the  great  tidal  wave  which  rolls 
away  out  there,  in  the  depths  and  the  distance  amongst 
the  fathomless  abysses,  tells  also  on  the  tiny  pool  far 
inland  and  yet  connected  with  the  sea  by  some  narrow, 
long  fiord. 

If  my  little  life  is  part  of  that  great  ocean,  then  the 
ebb  and  flow  will  alike  act  on  it  and  make  it  whole- 
some. If  my  work  is  done  in  and  for  God,  I  shall 
never  have  to  look  back  and  say,  as  we  certainly  shall 
say  one  day,  either  here  or  yonder,  unless  our  lives  be 
thus  part  of  the  divine  plan,  'What  a  fool  I  was! 
Seventy  years  of  toiling  and  moiling  and  effort  and 
sweat,  and  it  has  all  come  to  nothing;  like  a  long 
algebraic  sum  that  covers  pages  of  intricate  calcula- 
tions, and  the  pluses  and  minuses  just  balance  each 
other ;  and  the  net  result  is  a  great  round  nought.'  So 
let  us  remember  the  twofold  process,  and  let  it  stir 
us  to  make  sure  that  '  in  our  embers '  shall  be  '  some- 
thing that  doth  live,'  and  that  not  •  Nature,'  but  some- 
thing better — God— 'remembers  what  was  so  fugitive.' 
It  is  not  fugitive  if  it  is  a  part  of  the  mighty  whole. 

But  fui  cher,  let  this  double  contemplation  make  us 
very  content  with  doing  insignificant  and  unfinished 
work. 

Joseph  might  have  said,  when  he  lay  dying :  '  Well  I 


10  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  l 

perhaps  I  made  a  mistake  after  all.  I  should  not  have 
brought  this  people  down  here,  even  if  I  have  been  led 
hither.  I  do  not  see  that  I  have  helped  them  one  step 
towards  the  possession  of  the  land.'  Do  you  remember 
the  old  proverb  about  certain  people  who  should  not 
see  half -finished  work?  All  our  work  in  this  world 
has  to  be  only  what  the  physiologists  call  functional. 
God  has  a  great  scheme  running  on  through  ages. 
Joseph  gives  it  a  helping  hand  for  a  time,  and  then 
somebody  else  takes  up  the  running,  and  carries  the 
purpose  forward  a  little  further.  A  great  many  hands 
are  placed  on  the  ropes  that  draw  the  car  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  world.  And  one  after  another  they  get  stiffened 
in  death ;  but  the  car  goes  on.  We  should  be  contented 
to  do  our  little  bit  of  the  work.  Never  mind  whether 
it  is  complete  and  smooth  and  rounded  or  not.  Never 
mind  whether  it  can  be  isolated  from  the  rest  and 
held  up,  and  people  can  say,  '  He  did  that  entire  thing 
unaided.'  That  is  not  the  way  for  most  of  us.  A  great 
many  threads  go  to  make  the  piece  of  cloth,  and  a 
great  many  throws  of  the  shuttle  to  weave  the  web. 
A  great  many  bits  of  glass  make  up  the  mosaic 
pattern ;  and  there  is  no  reason  for  the  red  bit  to  pride 
itself  on  its  fiery  glow,  or  the  grey  bit  to  boast  of  its 
silvery  coolness.  They  are  all  parts  of  the  pattern,  and 
as  long  as  they  keep  their  right  places  they  complete 
the  artist's  design.  Thus,  if  we  think  of  how  'one 
soweth  and  another  reapeth,'  we  may  be  content  to 
receive  half-done  works  from  our  fathers,  and  to  hand 
on  unfinished  tasks  to  them  that  come  after  us.  It  is 
not  a  great  trial  of  a  man's  modesty,  if  he  lives  near 
Jesus  Christ,  to  be  content  to  do  but  a  very  small  bit 
of  the  Master's  work. 
And  the  last  thing  that  I  would  say  is,  let  this  double 


vs.  6, 7]         DEATH  AND  GROWTH  11 

process  going  on  all  round  us  lift  our  thoughts  to  Him 
who  lives  for  ever.  Moses  dies ;  Joshua  catches  the 
torch  from  his  hand.  And  the  reason  why  he  catches 
the  torch  from  his  hand  is  because  God  said,  *  As  I  was 
with  Moses  so  I  will  be  with  thee.'  Therefore  we  have 
to  turn  away  in  our  contemplations  from  the  mortality 
that  has  swallowed  up  so  much  wisdom  and  strength, 
eloquence  and  power,  which  the  Church  or  our  own 
hearts  seem  so  sorely  to  want :  and,  whilst  we  do,  we 
have  to  look  up  to  Jesus  Christ  and  say,  '  He  lives  !  He 
lives !  No  man  is  indispensable  for  public  work  or  for 
private  affection  and  solace  so  long  as  Inhere  is  a  living 
Christ  for  us  to  hold  by.' 

Dear  brethren,  we  need  that  conviction  for  ourselves 
often.  When  life  seems  empty  and  hope  dead,  and 
nothing  is  able  to  fill  the  vacuity  or  still  the  pain,  we 
have  to  look  to  the  vision  of  the  Lord  sitting  on  the 
empty  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and  yet  very  near  the 
aching  and  void  heart.    Christ  lives,  and  that  is  enough. 

So  the  separated  workers  in  all  the  generations,  who 
did  their  little  bit  of  service,  like  the  many  generations 
of  builders  who  laboured  through  centuries  upon  the 
completion  of  some  great  cathedral,  will  be  united  at 
the  last;  'and  he  that  soweth,  and  he  that  reapeth, 
shall  rejoice  together '  in  the  harvest  which  was  pro- 
duced by  neither  the  sower  nor  the  reaper,  but  by  Him 
who  blessed  the  toils  of  both. 

'Joseph  died,  and  all  his  brethren,  and  all  that 
generation ' ;  but  Jesus  lives,  and  therefore  His  people 
'  grow  and  multiply,'  and  His  servants'  work  is  blessed ; 
and  at  the  end  they  shall  be  knit  together  in  the 
common  joy  of  the  great  harvest,  and  of  the  day  when 
the  headstone  is  brought  forth  with  shoutings  of 
*  Grace !  grace  unto  it.' 


THE  ARK  AMONG  THE  FLAGS 

•  And  there  went  a  man  of  the  house  of  Levi,  and  took  to  wife  a  daughter  of  LevL 
2.  And  the  woman  conceived,  and  bare  a  son :  and  when  she  saw  him  that  he  was 
a  goodly  child,  she  hid  him  three  months.  3.  And  when  she  could  not  longer  hide 
him,  she  took  for  him  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and  daubed  it  with  slime  and  with 
pitch,  and  put  the  child  therein  ;  and  she  laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the  river's  brink. 
4.  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off,  to  wit  what  would  be  done  to  him.  5.  And  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh  came  down  to  wash  herself  at  the  river;  and  her  inaidena 
walked  along  by  the  river's  side ;  and  when  she  saw  the  ark  among  the  flags,  she 
sent  her  maid  to  fetch  it.  6.  And  when  she  had  opened  it,  she  saw  the  child :  and, 
behold,  the  babe  wept.  And  she  had  compassion  on  him,  and  said.  This  is  one  of 
the  Hebrews'  children,  7.  Then  said  his  sister  to  Pharaoh's  daughter.  Shall  I  go 
and  call  to  thee  a  nurse  of  the  Hebrew  women,  that  she  may  nurse  the  child  for 
thee  ?  8.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  to  her,  Go.  And  the  maid  went  and  called 
the  child's  mother.  9.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  unto  her,  Take  this  child 
away,  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages.  And  the  woman  took 
the  child,  and  nursed  it.  10.  And  the  child  grew,  and  she  brought  him  unto 
Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  he  became  her  son.  And  she  called  his  name  Moses: 
and  she  said.  Because  I  drew  him  out  of  the  water.'— Exodus  ii.  1-10. 

I.  It  is  remarkable  that  all  the  persons  in  this  narrative 
are  anonymous.  We  know  that  the  names  of  '  the 
man  of  the  house  of  Levi '  and  his  wife  were  Amram 
and  Jochebed.  Miriam  was  probably  the  anxious 
sister  who  watched  what  became  of  the  little  coffer. 
The  daughter  of  Pharaoh  has  two  names  in  Jewish 
tradition,  one  of  which  corresponds  to  that  which 
Brugsch  has  found  to  have  been  borne  by  one  of 
Rameses'  very  numerous  daughters.  One  likes  to 
think  that  the  name  of  the  gentle-hearted  woman  has 
come  down  to  us ;  but,  whether  she  was  called  *  Meri 
or  not,  she  and  the  others  have  no  name  here.  The 
reason  can  scarcely  have  been  ignorance.  But  they 
are,  as  it  were,  kept  in  shadow,  because  the  historian 
saw,  and  wished  us  to  see,  that  a  higher  Hand  was  at 
work,  and  that  over  all  the  events  recorded  in  these 
verses  there  brooded  the  informing,  guiding  Spirit  of 
God  Himself,  the  sole  actor. 

•  Each  only  as  God  wills 
Can  work — God's  puppets,  best  and  worst* 
Are  we :  there  is  no  last  nor  first.' 
U 


vs.  1-10]    THE  ARK  AMONG  THE  FLAGS  13 

II.  The  mother's  motive  in  braving  the  danger  to  her- 
self involved  in  keeping  the  child  is  remarkably  put. 
'When  she  saw  that  he  was  a  goodly  child,  she  hid 
him.'  It  was  not  only  a  mother's  love  that  emboldened 
her,  as  it  does  all  weak  creatures,  to  shelter  her  off- 
spring at  her  own  peril,  but  something  in  the  look  of 
the  infant,  as  it  lay  on  her  bosom,  touched  her  with  a 
dim  hope.  According  to  the  Septuagint  translation, 
both  parents  shared  in  this.  And  so  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  unites  them  in  that  which  is  here  attributed 
to  the  mother  only.  Stephen,  too,  speaks  of  Moses  as 
'fair  in  God's  sight.'  As  if  the  prescient  eyes  of  the 
parents  were  not  blinded  by  love,  but  rather  cleared  to 
see  some  token  of  divine  benediction  resting  on  him. 
The  writer  of  the  Hebrews  lifts  the  deed  out  of  the 
category  of  instinctive  maternal  affection  up  to  the 
higher  level  of  faith.  So  we  may  believe  that  the 
aspect  of  her  child  woke  some  prophetic  vision  in  the 
mother's  soul,  and  that  she  and  her  husband  were  of 
those  who  cherished  the  hopes  naturally  born  from 
the  promise  to  Abraham,  nurtured  by  Jacob's  and 
Joseph's  dying  wish  to  be  buried  in  Canaan,  and 
matured  by  the  tyranny  of  Pharaoh.  Their  faith,  at 
all  events,  grasped  the  unseen  God  as  their  helper,  and 
miade  Jochebed  bold  to  break  the  terrible  law,  as  a 
hen  will  fly  in  the  face  of  a  mastiff  to  shield  her  brood. 
Their  faith  perhaps  also  grasped  the  future  deliver- 
ance, and  linked  it  in  some  way  with  their  child.  We 
may  learn  how  transfiguring  and  ennobling  to  the 
gentlest  and  weakest  is  faith  in  God,  especially  when 
it  is  allied  with  unselfish  human  love.  These  two  are 
the  strongest  powers.  If  they  are  at  war,  the  struggle 
is  terrible:  if  they  are  united,  'the  weakest  is  as 
David,  and  David  as  an  angel  of  God.'    Let  us  seek 


14  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [ch.  ii. 

ever  to  blend  their  united  strength  in  our  own 
lives. 

Will  it  be  thought  too  fanciful  if  we  suggest  that  we 
are  taught  another  lesson, — namely,  that  the  faith 
which  surrenders  its  earthly  treasures  to  God,  in  con- 
fidence of  His  care,  is  generally  rewarded  and  vindi- 
cated by  receiving  them  back  again,  glorified  and 
sanctified  by  the  altar  on  which  they  have  been  laid  ? 
Jochebed  clasped  her  recovered  darling  to  her  bosom 
with  a  deeper  gladness,  and  held  him  by  a  surer  title, 
when  Miriam  brought  him  back  as  the  princess's 
charge,  than  ever  before.  We  never  feel  the  precious- 
ness  of  dear  ones  so  much,  nor  are  so  calm  in  the  joy 
of  possession,  as  when  we  have  laid  them  in  God's 
hands,  and  have  learned  how  wise  and  wonderful  His 
care  is. 

III.  How  much  of  the  world's  history  that  tiny  coffer 
among  the  reeds  held!  How  different  that  history 
would  have  been  if,  as  might  easily  have  happened,  it 
had  floated  away,  or  if  the  feeble  life  within  it  had 
wailed  itself  dead  unheard!  The  solemn  possibilities 
folded  and  slumbering  in  an  infant  are  always  awful 
to  a  thoughtful  mind.  But,  except  the  manger  at 
Bethlehem,  did  ever  cradle  hold  the  seed  of  so  much  as 
did  that  papyrus  chest  ?  The  set  of  opinion  at  present 
minimises  the  importance  of  the  individual,  and  exalts 
the  spirit  of  the  period,  as  a  factor  in  history.  Stand- 
ing beside  Miriam,  we  may  learn  a  truer  view,  and  see 
that  great  epochs  require  great  men,  and  that,  without 
such  for  leaders,  no  solid  advance  in  the  world's  pro- 
gress is  achieved.  Think  of  the  strange  cradle  floating 
on  the  Nile ;  then  think  of  the  strange  grave  among 
the  mountains  of  Moab,  and  of  all  between,  and  ponder 
the  same  lesson  as  is  taught  in  yet  higher  fashion  by 


vs.  1-10]    THE  ARK  AMONG  THE  FLAGS  15 

Bethlehem  and  Calvary,  that  God's  way  of  blessing  the 
world  is  to  fill  men  with  His  message,  and  let  others  draw 
from  them.  Whether  it  be  '  law,'  or  *  grace  and  truth,' 
a  man  is  needed  through  whom  it  may  fructify  to  all. 

IV.  The  sweet  picture  of  womanly  compassion  in 
Pharaoh's  daughter  is  full  of  suggestions.  We  have 
already  noticed  that  her  name  is  handed  down  by  one 
tradition  as  '  Merris,'  and  that  '  Meri '  has  been  found 
as  the  appellation  of  a  princess  of  the  period.  A  rab- 
binical authority  calls  her  '  Bithiah,'  that  is,  *  Daughter 
of  Jehovah ' ;  by  which  was,  no  doubt,  intended  to  imply 
that  she  became  in  some  sense  a  proselyte.  This  may 
have  been  only  an  inference  from  her  protection  of 
Moses.  There  is  a  singular  and  very  obscure  passage 
in  1  Chronicles  iv.  17,  18,  relating  the  genealogy  of  a 
certain  Mered,  who  seems  to  have  had  two  wives, 
one  •  the  Jewess,'  the  other  *  Bithiah,  the  daughter  of 
Pharaoh.'  We  know  no  more  about  him  or  her,  but 
Keil  thinks  that  Mered  probably  'lived  before  the 
exodus ' ;  but  it  can  scarcely  be  that  the  '  daughter  of 
Pharaoh,'  his  wife,  is  our  princess,  and  that  she  actually 
became  a  '  daughter  of  Jehovah,'  and,  like  her  adopted 
child,  refused  royal  dignity  and  preferred  reproach.  In 
any  case,  the  legend  of  her  name  is  a  tender  and 
beautiful  way  of  putting  the  belief  that  in  her  '  there 
was  some  good  thing  towards  the  Grod  of  Israel.' 

But,  passing  from  that,  how  the  true  woman's  heart 
changes  languid  curiosity  into  tenderness,  and  how 
compassion  conquesr  pride  of  race  and  station,  as  well 
as  regard  for  her  father's  edict,  as  soon  as  the  infant's 
cry,  which  touches  every  good  woman's  feelings,  falls 
on  her  ear  I  *  One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole 
world  kin.'  All  the  centuries  are  as  nothing;  the 
strange  garb  and  the  stranger  mental  and  spiritual 


16  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [ch.  ii. 

dress  fade,  and  we  have  here  a  mere  woman,  affected,  as 
every  true  sister  of  hers  to-day  would  be,  by  the  help- 
less wailing.  God  has  put  that  instinct  there.  Alas 
that  it  ever  should  be  choked  by  frivolity  or  pride,  and 
frozen  by  indifference  and  self-indulgence!  Gentle 
souls  spring  up  in  unfavourable  soil.  Rameses  was  a 
strange  father  for  such  a  daughter.  How  came  this 
dove  in  the  vulture's  cage  ?  Her  sweet  pity  beside  his 
cold  craft  and  cruelty  is  like  the  lamb  couching  by  the 
lion.  Note,  too,  that  gentlest  pity  makes  the  gentlest 
brave.  She  sees  the  child  is  a  Hebrew.  Her  quick  wit 
understands  why  it  has  been  exposed,  and  she  takes 
its  part,  and  the  part  of  the  poor  weeping  parents, 
whom  she  can  fancy,  against  the  savage  law.  No  doubt, 
as  Egyptologists  tell  us,  the  princesses  of  the  royal 
house  had  separate  households  and  abundant  liberty  of 
action.  Still,  it  was  bold  to  override  the  strict  com- 
mands of  such  a  monarch.  But  it  was  not  a  self-willed 
sense  of  power,  but  the  beautiful  daring  of  a  compas- 
sionate woman,  to  which  God  committed  the  execution 
of  His  purposes. 

And  that  is  a  force  which  has  much  like  work 
trusted  to  it  in  modern  society  too.  Our  great  cities 
swarm  with  children  exposed  to  a  worse  fate  than  the 
baby  among  the  flags.  Legislation  and  official  charity 
have  far  too  rough  hands  and  too  clumsy  ways  to 
lift  the  little  life  out  of  the  coffer,  and  to  dry  the  tears. 
We  must  look  to  Christian  women  to  take  a  leaf  out  of 
'  Bithiah's '  book.  First,  they  should  use  their  eyes  to 
see  the  facts,  and  not  be  so  busy  about  their  own  luxury 
and  comfort  that  they  pass  the  poor  pitch-covered  box 
unnoticed.  Then  they  should  let  the  pitiful  call  touch 
their  heart,  and  not  steel  themselves  in  indifference  or 
ease.     Then  they  should  conquer  prejudices  of  race, 


vs.  1-10]   THE  ARK  AMONG  THE  FLAGS   17 

pride  of  station,  fear  of  lowering  themselves,  loathing, 
or  contempt.  And  then  they  should  yield  to  the 
impulses  of  their  compassion,  and  never  mind  w^hat 
difficulties  or  opponents  may  stand  in  the  way  of  their 
saving  the  children.  If  Christian  women  knew  their 
obligations  and  their  power,  and  lived  up  to  them  as 
bravely  as  this  Egyptian  princess,  there  would  be 
fewer  little  ones  flung  out  to  be  eaten  by  crocodiles, 
and  many  a  poor  child,  who  is  now  abandoned  from 
infancy  to  the  Devil,  would  be  rescued  to  grow  up  a 
servant  of  God.  She,  there  by  the  Nile  waters,  in  her 
gracious  pity  and  prompt  wisdom,  is  the  type  of  what 
Christian  womanhood,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  Christian 
community,  should  be  in  relation  to  child  life. 

V.  The  great  lesson  of  this  incident,  as  of  so  much 
before,  is  the  presence  of  God's  wonderful  providence, 
working  out  its  designs  by  all  the  play  of  human 
motives.  In  accordance  with  a  law,  often  seen  in  His 
dealings,  it  was  needful  that  the  deliverer  should  come 
from  the  heart  of  the  system  from  which  he  was  to  set 
his  brethren  free.  The  same  principle  which  sent  Saul 
of  Tarsus  to  be  trained  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and 
made  Luther  a  monk  in  the  Augustinian  convent  at 
Erfurt,  planted  Moses  in  Pharaoh's  palace  and  taught 
him  the  wisdom  of  Egypt,  against  which  he  was  to 
contend.  It  was  a  strange  irony  of  Providence  that 
put  him  so  close  to  the  throne  which  he  was  to  shake. 
For  his  future  work  he  needed  to  be  lifted  above  his 
people,  and  to  be  familiar  with  the  Egyptian  court  as 
well  as  with  Egyptian  learning.  If  he  was  to  hate  and 
to  war  against  idolatry,  and  to  rescue  an  unwilling 
people  from  it,  he  must  know  the  rottenness  of  the 
system,  and  must  have  lived  close  enough  to  it  to 
know  what  went  on  behind  the  scenes,  and  how  foully 

5 


18  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [cH.n. 

it  smelled  when  near.  He  would  gain  influence  over 
his  countrymen  by  his  connection  with  Pharaoh,  whilst 
his  very  separation  from  them  would  at  once  prevent 
his  spirit  from  being  broken  by  oppression,  and  would 
give  him  a  keener  sympathy  with  his  people  than  if 
he  had  himself  been  crushed  by  slavery.  His  culture, 
heathen  as  it  was,  supplied  the  material  on  which  the 
divine  Spirit  worked.  God  fashioned  the  vessel,  and 
then  filled  it.  Education  is  not  the  antagonist  of  in- 
spiration. For  the  most  part,  the  men  whom  God  has 
used  for  His  highest  service  have  been  trained  in  all 
the  wisdom  of  their  age.  When  it  has  been  piled  up 
into  an  altar,  then  *  the  fire  of  the  Lord '  falls. 

Our  story  teaches  us  that  God's  chosen  instruments 
are  immortal  till  their  work  is  done.  No  matter  how 
forlorn  may  seem  their  outlook,  how  small  the  proba- 
bilities in  their  favour,  how  divergent  from  the  goal 
may  seem  the  road  He  leads  them.  He  watches  them. 
Around  that  frail  ark,  half  lost  among  the  reeds,  is 
cast  the  impregnable  shield  of  His  purpose.  All  things 
serve  that  Will.  The  current  in  the  full  river,  the  lie  of 
the  flags  that  stop  it  from  being  borne  down,  the  hour 
of  the  princess's  bath,  the  direction  of  her  idle  glance, 
the  cry  of  the  child  at  the  right  moment,  the  impulse 
welling  up  in  her  heart,  the  swift  resolve,  the  in- 
nocent diplomacy  of  the  sister,  the  shelter  of  the 
happy  mother's  breast,  the  safety  of  the  palace, — all 
these  and  a  hundred  more  trivial  and  unrelated  things 
are  spun  into  the  strong  cable  wherewith  God  draws 
slowly  but  surely  His  secret  purpose  into  act.  So 
ever  His  children  are  secure  as  long  as  He  has  work 
for  them,  and  His  mighty  plan  strides  on  to  its  accom- 
plishment over  all  the  barriers  that  men  can  raise. 

How  deeply  this    story  had  impressed  on    devout 


vs.  1-10]  THE  BUSH  THAT  BURNED  19 

minds  the  truth  of  the  divine  protection  for  all  who 
serve  Him,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  word  employed 
in  the  last  verse  of  our  lesson,  and  there  translated 
*  drawn,'  of  which  the  name  '  Moses '  is  a  form,  is  used 
on  the  only  occasion  of  its  occurrence  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment (namely  Psalm  xviii.  16,  and  in  the  duplicate  in 
2  Sam.  xxii.  17)  with  plain  reference  to  our  narrative. 
The  Psalmist  describes  his  own  deliverance,  in  answer 
to  his  cry,  by  a  grand  manifestation  of  God's  majesty  ; 
and  this  is  the  climax  and  the  purpose  of  the  earth- 
quake and  the  lightning,  the  darkness  and  the  storm : 
'He  sent  from  above.  He  took  me,  He  drew  me  out 
of  many  waters.'  So  that  scene  by  the  margin  of  the 
Nile,  so  many  years  ago,  is  but  one  transient  instance 
of  the  working  of  the  power  which  secures  deliver- 
ance from  encompassing  perils,  and  for  strenuous, 
though  it  may  be  undistinguished,  service  to  all  who 
call  upon  Him.  God,  who  put  the  compassion  into  the 
heart  of  Pharaoh's  dusky  daughter,  is  not  less  tender 
of  heart  than  she,  and  when  He  hears  us,  though  our 
cry  be  but  as  of  an  infant,  *  with  no  language  but  a 
cry,'  He  will  come  in  His  majesty  and  draw  us  from 
encompassing  dangers  and  impending  death.  We  can- 
not all  be  lawgivers  and  deliverers ;  but  we  may  all 
appeal  to  His  great  pity,  and  partake  of  deliverance 
like  that  of  Moses  and  of  David. 


THE  BUSH  THAT  BURNED,  AND  DID 
NOT  BURN  OUT 

*  And,  behold,  the  bash  burned  with  fire,  and  the  bush  was  not  consumed.' 

Exodus  ill.  2. 

It  was  a  very  sharp  descent  from  Pharaoh's  palace 
to  the  wilderness,  and  forty  years  of  a  shepherd's  life 


20  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.iii. 

were  a  strange  contrast  to  the  brilliant  future  that 
once  seemed  likely  for  Moses.  But  God  tests  His 
weapons  before  He  uses  them,  and  great  men  are 
generally  prepared  for  great  deeds  by  great  sorrows. 
Solitude  is  *the  mother-country  of  the  strong,'  and  the 
wilderness,  with  its  savage  crags,  its  awful  silence,  and 
the  unbroken  round  of  its  blue  heaven,  was  a  better 
place  to  meet  God  than  in  the  heavy  air  of  a  palace, 
or  the  profitless  splendours  of  a  court. 

So  as  this  lonely  shepherd  is  passing  slowly  in  front 
of  his  flock,  he  sees  a  strange  light  that  asserted  itself, 
even  in  the  brightness  of  the  desert  sunshine.  '  The 
bush'  does  not  mean  one  single  shrub.  Rather,  it 
implies  some  little  group,  or  cluster,  or  copse,  of  the 
dry  thorny  acacias,  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
country,  and  over  which  any  ordinary  fire  would  have 
passed  like  a  flash,  leaving  them  all  in  grey  ashes.  But 
this  steady  light  persists  long  enough  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  shepherd,  and  to  admit  of  his  travelling 
some  distance  to  reach  it.  And  then — and  then — the 
Lord  speaks. 

The  significance  of  this  bush,  burning  but  not  con- 
sumed, is  my  main  subject  now,  for  I  think  it  carries 
great  and  blessed  lessons  for  us. 

Now,  first,  I  do  not  think  that  the  bush  burning  but 
not  consumed,  stands  as  it  is  ordinarily  understood  to 
stand,  for  the  symbolical  representation  of  the  preser- 
vation of  Israel,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  fiery  furnace 
of  persecution  and  sorrow. 

Beautiful  as  that  idea  is,  I  do  not  think  it  is  the  true 
explanation;  because  if  so,  this  symbol  is  altogether 
out  of  keeping  with  the  law  that  applies  to  all  the  rest 
of  the  symbolical  accompaniments  of  divine  appear- 
ances, all  of  which,  without  exception,  set  forth  in 


V.  2]         THE  BUSH  THAT  BURNED  21 

symbol  some  truth  about  God,  and  not  about  His 
Church ;  and  all  of  which,  without  exception,  are  a 
representation  in  visible  and  symbolical  form  of  the 
same  truth  which  was  proclaimed  in  articulate  words 
along  with  them.  The  symbol  and  the  accompanying 
voice  of  God  in  all  other  cases  have  one  and  the  same 
meaning. 

That,  I  think,  is  the  case  here  also;  and  we 
learn  from  the  Bush,  not  something  about  God's 
Church,  however  precious  that  may  be,  but 
what  is  a  great  deal  more  important,  something 
about  God  Himself;  namely,  the  same  thing  that 
immediately  afterwards  was  spoken  in  articulate 
words. 

In  the  next  place,  let  me  observe  that  the  fire  is 
distinctly  a  divine  symbol,  a  symbol  of  God  not  of 
affliction,  as  the  ordinary  explanation  implies.  I  need 
not  do  more  than  remind  you  of  the  stream  of  emblem 
which  runs  all  through  Scripture,  as  confirming  this 
point.  There  are  the  smoking  lamp  and  the  blazing 
furnace  in  the  early  vision  granted  to  Abraham.  There 
is  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  that  lay  over  the  desert 
camp  of  the  wandering  Israelites.  There  is  Isaiah's 
word,  'The  light  of  Israel  shall  be  a  flaming  fire.' 
There  is  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  teaching, 
turning  on  the  manifestation  of  God  through  His  Spirit. 
There  are  John  the  Baptist's  words,  '  He  shall  baptize 
you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.'  There  is  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  *  tongues  of  fire  sat  upon 
each  of  them.'  And  what  is  meant  by  the  great  word 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  *  Our  God  is  a  con- 
suming fire '  ? 

Not  Israel  only,  but  many  other  lands — it  would 
scarcely  be  an  exaggeration  to  say,  all  other  lands — 


22  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.iii. 

have  used  the  same  emblem  with  the  same  meaning. 
In  almost  every  religion  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  you 
will  find  a  sacred  significance  attached  to  fire.  That 
significance  is  not  primarily  destruction,  as  we  some- 
times suppose,  an  error  which  has  led  to  ghastly  mis- 
understandings of  some  Scriptures,  and  of  the  God 
whom  they  reveal.  When,  for  instance,  Isaiah  (xxxiii. 
14)  asks,  '  Who  among  us  shall  dwell  with  the  devour- 
ing fire?  who  among  us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting 
burnings?'  he  has  been  supposed  to  be  asking  what 
human  soul  is  there  that  can  endure  the  terrors  of 
God's  consuming  and  unending  wrath.  But  a  little 
attention  to  the  words  would  have  shown  that  'the 
devouring  fire'  and  the  'everlasting  burnings'  mean 
God  and  not  hell,  and  that  the  divine  nature  is  by 
them  not  represented  as  too  fierce  to  be  approached, 
but  as  the  true  dwelling-place  of  men,  which  indeed 
only  the  holy  can  inhabit,  but  which  for  them  is  life. 
Precisely  parallel  is  the  Psalmist's  question,  'Who 
shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and  who  shall 
stand  in  His  holy  place  ? ' 

Fire  is  the  source  of  warmth,  and  so,  in  a  sense,  of 
life.  It  is  full  of  quick  energy,  it  transmutes  all  kinds 
of  dead  matter  into  its  own  ruddy  likeness,  sending  up 
the  fat  of  the  sacrifices  in  wreathes  of  smoke  that 
aspire  heavenward  ;  and  changing  all  the  gross,  heavy, 
earthly  dullness  into  flame,  more  akin  to  the  heaven 
into  which  it  rises. 

Therefore,  as  cleansing,  as  the  source  of  life,  light, 
warmth,  change,  as  glorifying,  transmuting,  purifying, 
refining,  fire  is  the  fitting  symbol  of  the  mightiest  of 
all  creative  energy.  And  the  Bible  has  consecrated 
the  symbolism,  and  bade  us  think  of  the  Lord  Himself 
as  the  central  fiery  Spirit  of  the  whole  universe,  a 


V.2]         THE  BUSH  THAT  BURNED  23 

spark  from  whom  irradiates  and  vitalises  everything 
that  lives. 

Nor  should  we  forget,  on  the  other  side,  that  the 
very  felicity  of  this  emblem  is,  that  along  with  all 
these  blessed  thoughts  of  life-giving  and  purifying, 
there  does  come  likewise  the  more  solemn  teaching  of 
God's  destructive  power.  '  What  maketh  heaven,  that 
maketh  hell ' ;  and  the  same  God  is  the  fire  to  quicken, 
to  sanctify,  to  bless ;  and  resisted,  rejected,  neglected, 
is  the  fire  that  consumes  ;  the  savour  of  life  unto  life, 
or  the  savour  of  death  unto  death. 

And  then,  still  further,  notice  that  this  flame  is  un- 
dying— steady,  unflickering.  What  does  that  mean? 
Adopting  the  principle  which  I  have  already  taken  as 
our  guide,  that  the  symbol  and  the  following  oral 
revelation  teach  the  same  truth,  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  that  answer.  '  I  am  the  God  of  thy 
fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob. 

'  I  AM  THAT  I  AM.' 

That  is  to  say,  the  fire  that  burns  and  does  not  burn 
out,  which  has  no  tendency  to  destruction  in  its  very 
energy,  and  is  not  consumed  by  its  own  activity,  is 
surely  a  symbol  of  the  one  Being  whose  being  derives 
its  law  and  its  source  from  Himself,  who  only  can  say 
— '  I  AM  THAT  I  AM ' — the  law  of  His  nature,  the  f ounda 
tion  of  His  being,  the  only  conditions  of  His  existence 
being,  as  it  were,  enclosed  within  the  limits  of  His  own 
nature.  You  and  I  have  to  say,  *I  am  that  which  I 
have  become,'  or  '  I  am  that  which  I  was  born,'  or  *  I 
am  that  which  circumstances  have  made  me.'  He  says, 
•  I  AM  THAT  I  AM.'  All  other  creatures  are  links ;  this 
is  the  staple  from  which  they  all  hang.  All  other  being 
is  derived,  and  therefore  limited  and  changeful;  this 
Being  is  underived,  absolute,  self-dependent,  and  there- 


24  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  iii. 

fore  unalterable  for  evermore.  Because  we  live  we 
die.  In  living  the  process  is  going  on  of  which  death 
is  the  end.  But  God  lives  for  evermore,  a  flame  that 
does  not  burn  out ;  therefore  His  resources  are  in- 
exhaustible, His  power  unwearied.  He  needs  no  rest 
for  recuperation  of  wasted  energy.  His  gifts  diminish 
not  the  store  which  He  has  to  bestow.  He  gives,  and 
is  none  the  poorer ;  He  works,  and  is  never  weary ;  He 
operates  unspent ;  He  loves,  and  He  loves  for  ever ; 
and  through  the  ages  the  fire  burns  on,  unconsumed 
and  undecayed. 

O  brethren !  is  not  that  a  revelation — familiar  as 
it  sounds  to  our  ears  now,  blessed  be  God  ! — is  not  that 
a  revelation  of  which,  when  we  apprehend  the  depth 
and  the  preciousness,  we  may  well  fix  an  unalterable 
faith  upon  it,  and  feel  that  for  us,  in  our  fleeting  days 
and  shadowy  moments,  the  one  means  to  secure  blessed- 
ness, rest,  strength,  life,  is  to  grasp  and  knit  ourselves 
to  Him  who  lives  for  ever,  and  whose  love  is  lasting 
as  His  life  ?  '  The  eternal  God,  the  Lord  .  .  .  fainteth 
not,  neither  is  weary.  They  that  wait  upon  Him  shall 
renew  their  strength.' 

The  last  thought  suggested  to  me  by  this  symbol  is 
this.  Regarding  the  lowly  thorn-bush  as  an  emblem 
of  Israel — which  unquestionably  it  is,  though  the  fire 
be  the  symbol  of  God — in  the  fact  that  the  symbolical 
manifestation  of  the  divine  energy  lived  in  so  lowly  a 
shrine,  and  flamed  in  it,  and  preserved  it  by  its  burning, 
there  is  a  great  and  blessed  truth. 

It  is  the  same  truth  which  Jesus  Christ,  with  a  depth 
of  interpretation  that  put  to  shame  the  cavilling 
listeners,  found  in  the  words  that  accompanied  this 
vision :  '  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and    the    God    of   Jacob.'    He    said   to    the   sneering 


V.2]         THE  BUSH  THAT  BURNED  25 

Sadducees,  who,  like  all  other  sneerers,  saw  only  the 
surface  of  what  they  were  sarcastic  about,  '  Did  not 
Moses  teach  you,'  in  the  section  about  the  bush,  '  that 
the  dead  rise,  when  he  said :  I  AM  the  God  of  Abraham, 
and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob.'  A  man,  about  whom  it  can 
once  be  said  that  God  is  his  God,  cannot  die.  Such  a 
bond  can  never  be  broken.  The  communion  of  earth, 
imperfect  as  it  is,  is  the  prophecy  of  Heaven  and  the 
pledge  of  immortality.  And  so  from  that  relationship 
which  subsisted  between  the  fathers  and  God,  Christ 
infers  the  certainty  of  their  resurrection.  It  seems  a 
great  leap,  but  there  are  intervening  steps  not  stated 
by  our  Lord,  which  securely  bridge  the  gulf  between  the 
premises  and  the  conclusion.  Such  communion  is,  in 
its  very  nature,  unaffected  by  the  accident  of  death,  for 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  a  man  who  can  say  that  God 
is  His  God  can  be  reduced  to  nothingness,  and  such  a 
bond  be  snapped  by  such  a  cause.  Therefore  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob  are  still  living,  '  for  all '  those  whom 
we  call  dead,  as  well  as  those  whom  we  call  living,  'live 
unto  Him,'  and  though  so  many  centuries  have  passed, 
God  still  is,  not  was,  their  God.  The  relation  between 
them  is  eternal  and  guarantees  their  immortal  life. 
But  immortality  without  corporeity  is  not  conceivable 
as  the  perfect  state,  and  if  the  dead  live  still,  there 
must  come  a  time  when  the  whole  man  shall  partake 
of  redemption ;  and  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit  the  glorified 
and  risen  saints  shall  be  '  for  ever  with  the  Lord.' 

That  is  but  the  fuller  working  out  of  the  same  truth 
that  is  taught  us  in  the  symbol  '  the  bush  burned  and 
was  not  consumed.'  God  dwelt  in  it,  therefore  it 
flamed ;  God  dwelt  in  it,  therefore  though  it  flamed  it 
never  flamed  out.  Or  in  other  words,  the  Church,  the 
individual  in  whom  He  dwells,  partakes  of  the  im- 


26  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  hi. 

mortality  of  the  indwelling  God.  *  Every  one  shall  be 
salted  with  fire,'  which  shall  be  preservative  and  not 
destructive ;  or,  as  Christ  has  said,  *  Because  I  live  ye 
shall  live  also.' 

Humble  as  was  the  little,  ragged,  sapless  thorn-bush, 
springing  up  and  living  its  solitary  life  amidst  the 
sands  of  the  desert,  it  was  not  too  humble  to  hold  God ; 
it  was  not  too  gross  to  burst  into  flame  when  He  came ; 
it  was  not  too  fragile  to  be  gifted  with  undying  being ; 
like  His  that  abode  in  it.  And  for  us  each  the  emblem 
may  be  true.  If  He  dwell  in  us  we  shall  live  as  long  as 
He  lives,  and  the  fire  that  He  puts  in  our  heart  shall  be 
a  fountain  of  fire  springing  up  into  life  everlasting. 


THE  CALL  OF  MOSES 

'Come  now  therefore,  and  I  will  send  thee  unto  Pharaoh,  that  thou  mayest 
bring  forth  My  people  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt.  11.  And  Moses  said 
unto  God,  Who  am  I,  that  I  should  go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  that  I  should  bring 
forth  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt?  12.  And  He  said,  Certainly  I  will  be 
with  thee ;  and  this  shall  be  a  token  unto  thee,  that  I  have  sent  thee :  When  thou 
hast  brought  forth  the  people  out  of  Egypt,  ye  shall  serve  God  upon  this  moun- 
tain. 13.  And  Moses  said  unto  God,  Behold,  when  I  come  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  shall  say  unto  them.  The  God  of  your  fathers  hath  sent  me  unto  you ; 
and  they  shall  say  to  me.  What  is  His  name?  what  shall  I  say  unto  them  I 
14.  And  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM :  and  He  said,  thus  shalt  thou 
say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath  sent  me  unto  you.  15.  And  God  said 
moreover  unto  Moses,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  The  Lord 
God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob,  hath  sent  me  unto  you :  this  is  my  name  for  ever,  and  this  is  my  memorial 
unto  all  generations.  16.  Go,  and  gather  the  elders  of  Israel  together,  and  say 
unto  them.  The  Lord  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of 
Jacob,  appeared  unto  me,  saying,  I  have  surely  visited  you,  and  seen  that  which 
is  done  to  you  in  Egypt :  17.  And  I  have  said,  I  will  bring  you  up  out  of  the 
affliction  of  Egypt  unto  the  land  of  the  Canaanitea,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the 
Amorites,  and  the  Perizzites,  and  the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites,  unto  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  18.  And  they  shall  hearken  to  thy  voice  :  and  thou 
Bhalt  come,  thou  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  unto  the  king  of  Egjrpt,  and  ye  shall 
say  unto  him,  The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  met  with  us:  and  now  let  ua 
go,  we  beseech  Thee,  three  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness,  that  we  may 
eacriflce  to  the  Lord  our  God.  19.  And  I  am  sure  that  the  king  of  Egypt  will 
not  let  you  go,  no,  not  by  a  mighty  hand.  20.  And  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand, 
and  smite  Egypt  with  all  My  wonders  which  I  will  do  in  the  midst  thereof:  and 
after  that  he  will  let  you  go.'— Exodus  ill.  10-20. 

The  'son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter'  had  been  transformed, 
by  nearly  forty  years   of  desert  life,  into  an  Arab 


vs.  10-20]       THE  CALL  OF  MOSES  27 

shepherd.  The  influences  of  the  Egyptian  court  bad 
faded  from  him,  like  colour  from  cloth  exposed  to  the 
weather;  nor  is  it  probable  that,  after  the  failure  of 
his  early  attempt  to  play  the  deliverer  to  Israel,  he 
nourished  further  designs  of  that  sort.  He  appears  to 
have  settled  down  quietly  to  be  Jethro's  son-in-law, 
and  to  have  lived  a  modest,  still  life  of  humble  toil. 
He  had  flung  away  fair  prospects, — and  what  had  he 
made  of  it  ?  The  world  would  say  *  Nothing,'  as  it  ever 
does  about  those  who  despise  material  advantages  and 
covet  higher  good.  Looking  after  sheep  in  the  desert 
was  a  sad  downcome  from  the  possibility  of  sitting  on 
the  throne  of  Egypt.  Yes,  but  it  was  in  the  desert 
that  the  vision  of  the  bush  burning,  and  not  burning 
out,  came;  and  it  would  not  have  come  if  Moses  had 
been  in  a  palace. 

This  passage  begins  in  the  midst  of  the  divine  com- 
munication which  followed  and  interpreted  the  vision. 
We  note,  first,  the  divine  charge  and  the  human 
shrinking  from  the  task.  It  was  a  startling  transition 
from  verse  9,  which  declares  God's  pitying  knowledge 
of  Israel's  oppression,  to  verse  10,  which  thrusts  Moses 
forward  into  the  thick  of  dangers  and  difficulties,  as 
God's  instrument.  '  I  will  send  thee '  must  have  come 
like  a  thunder-clap.  The  commander's  summons  which 
brings  a  man  from  the  rear  rank  and  sets  him  in  the 
van  of  a  storming-party  may  well  make  its  receiver 
shrink.  It  was  not  cowardice  which  prompted  Moses' 
answer,  but  lowliness.  His  former  impetuous  con- 
fidence had  all  been  beaten  out  of  him.  Time  was 
when  he  was  ready  to  take  up  the  rdle  of  deliverer 
at  his  own  hand ;  but  these  hot  days  were  past, 
and  age  and  solitude  and  communion  with  God  had 
mellowed  him  into  humility.    His  recoil  was  but  one 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [oh.  iii. 

instance  of  the  shrinking  which  all  true,  devout  men 
feel  when  designated  for  tasks  which  may  prohably 
make  life  short,  and  will  certainly  make  it  hard.  All 
prophets  and  reformers  till  to-day  have  had  the  same 
feeling.  Men  who  can  do  such  work  as  the  Jeremiahs, 
Pauls,  Luthers,  Cromwells,  can  do,  are  never  forward 
to  begin  it. 

Self-confidence  is  not  the  temper  which  God  uses 
for  His  instruments.  He  works  with  'bruised  reeds,' 
and  breathes  His  strength  into  them.  It  is  when  a 
man  says  *I  can  do  nothing,'  that  he  is  fit  for  God 
to  employ.  'When  I  am  weak,  then  I  am  strong.' 
Moses  remembered  enough  of  Egypt  to  know  that  it 
was  no  slight  peril  to  front  Pharaoh,  and  enough  of 
Israel  not  to  be  particularly  eager  to  have  the  task  of 
leading  them.  But  mark  that  there  is  no  refusal  of 
the  charge,  though  there  is  profound  consciousness  of 
inadequacy.  If  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  any 
duty,  great  or  small,  is  laid  on  us  by  God,  it  is  whole- 
some that  we  should  drive  home  to  ourselves  our  own 
weakness,  but  not  that  we  should  try  to  shuffle  out 
of  the  duty  because  we  are  weak.  Moses'  answer  was 
more  of  a  prayer  for  help  than  of  a  remonstrance, 
and  it  was  answered  accordingly. 

God  deals  very  gently  with  conscious  weakness. 
'Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee.'  Moses'  estimate  of 
himself  is  quite  correct,  and  it  is  the  condition  of  his 
obtaining  God's  help.  If  he  had  been  self-confident, 
he  would  have  had  no  longing  for,  and  no  promise  of, 
God's  presence.  In  all  our  little  tasks  we  may  have 
the  same  assurance,  and,  whenever  we  feel  that  they 
are  too  great  for  us,  the  strength  of  that  promise 
may  be  ours.  God  sends  no  man  on  errands  which 
He  does  not  give  him  power  to  do.    So  Moses  had  not 


vs  10-20]       THE  CALL  OF  MOSES  29 

to  calculate  the  difference  between  his  feebleness  and 
the  strength  of  a  kingdom.  Such  arithmetic  left  out 
one  element,  which  made  all  the  difference  in  the 
sum  total.  '  Pharaoh  versus  Moses '  did  not  look  a 
very  hopeful  cause,  but  'Pharaoh  versus  Moses  and 
Another ' — that  other  being  God — was  a  very  different 
matter.  God  and  I  are  always  stronger  than  any  an- 
tagonists. It  was  needless  to  discuss  whether  Moses 
was  able  to  cope  with  the  king.  That  was  not  the 
right  way  of  putting  the  problem.  The  right  way 
was.  Is  God  able  to  do  it  ? 

The  sign  given  to  Moses  is  at  first  sight  singular, 
inasmuch  as  it  requires  faith,  and  can  only  be  a  con- 
firmation of  his  mission  when  that  mission  is  well 
accomplished.  But  there  was  a  help  to  present  faith 
even  in  it,  for  the  very  sacredness  of  the  spot  hallowed 
now  by  the  burning  bush  was  a  kind  of  external  sign 
of  the  promise. 

One  difficulty  being  solved,  Moses  raised  another, 
but  not  in  the  spirit  of  captiousness  or  reluctance. 
God  is  very  patient  with  us  when  we  tell  Him  the 
obstacles  which  we  seem  to  see  to  our  doing  His  work. 
As  long  as  these  are  presented  in  good  faith,  and 
with  the  wish  to  have  them  cleared  up,  He  listens  and 
answers.  The  second  question  asked  by  Moses  was 
eminently  reasonable.  He  pictures  to  himself  his  ad- 
dressing the  Israelites,  and  their  question.  What  is 
the  name  of  this  God  who  has  sent  you  ?  Apparently 
the  children  of  Israel  had  lost  much  of  their  ances- 
tral faith,  and  probably  had  in  many  instances  fallen 
into  idolatry.  We  do  not  know  enough  to  pronounce 
with  confidence  on  that  point,  nor  how  far  the  great 
name  of  Jehovah  had  been  used  before  the  time  of 
Moses,  or  had  been  forgotten  in  Egypt. 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [cH.iii. 

The  questions  connected  with  these  points  and  with 
the  history  of  the  name  do  not  enter  into  our  pre- 
sent purpose.  My  task  is  rather  to  point  out  the 
religious  significance  of  the  self-revelation  of  God  con- 
tained in  the  name,  and  how  it  becomes  the  founda- 
tion of  Israel's  deliverance,  existence,  and  prerogatives. 
Whatever  opinions  are  adopted  as  to  the  correct  form 
of  the  name  and  other  grammatical  and  philological 
questions,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  mainly  reveals 
God  as  self-existent  and  unchangeable.  He  draws  His 
being  from  no  external  source,  nor  '  borrows  leave  to 
be.*  Creatures  are  what  they  are  made  or  grow  to 
be ;  they  are  what  they  were  not ;  they  are  what  they 
will  some  time  not  any  more  be.  But  He  is  what  He 
is.  Lifted  above  time  and  change,  self-existing  and 
self-determined,  He  is  the  fountain  of  life,  the  same 
for  ever. 

This  underived,  independent,  immutable  being  is  a 
Person  who  can  speak  to  men,  and  can  say  'I  am.' 
Being  such.  He  has  entered  into  close  covenant  re- 
lations with  men,  and  has  permitted  Himself  to  be 
called  'the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.'  The 
name  Jehovah  lifts  Him  high  above  all  creatures ;  the 
name  '  the  God  of  your  fathers '  brings  Him  into  tender 
proximity  with  men,  and,  in  combination  with  the 
former  designation,  guarantees  that  He  will  for  ever  be 
what  He  has  been,  even  to  all  generations  of  children's 
children.  That  mighty  name  is,  indeed.  His  '  memorial 
to  all  generations,'  and  is  as  fresh  and  full  of  blessed- 
ness to  us  as  to  the  patriarchs.  Christ  has  made 
us  understand  more  of  the  treasures  for  heart  and 
mind  and  life  which  are  stored  in  it.  '  Our  Father 
which  art  in  heaven'  is  the  unfolding  of  its  inmost 
meaning. 


vs.  10-20]       THE  CALL  OF  MOSES  31 

We  may  note  that  the  bush  burning  but  not  con- 
sumed expressed  in  symbol  the  same  truth  which  the 
name  reveals.  It  seems  a  mistake  to  take  the  bush 
as  the  emblem  of  Israel  surviving  persecution.  Rather 
the  revelation  to  the  eye  says  the  same  thing  as  that 
to  the  ear,  as  is  generally  the  case.  As  the  desert 
shrub  flamed,  and  yet  did  not  burn  away,  so  that 
divine  nature  is  not  wearied  by  action  nor  exhausted 
by  bestowing,  nor  has  its  life  any  tendency  towards 
ending  or  extinction,  as  all  creatural  life  has. 

The  closing  verses  of  this  passage  (vs.  16-20)  are  a 
programme  of  Moses'  mission,  in  which  one  or  two  points 
deserve  notice.  First,  the  general  course  of  it  is  made 
known  from  the  beginning.  Therein  Moses  was  blessed 
beyond  most  of  God's  servants,  who  have  to  risk  much 
and  to  labour  on,  not  knowing  which  shall  prosper. 
If  we  could  see,  as  he  did,  the  lie  of  the  country 
beforehand,  our  journeys  would  be  easier.  So  we 
often  think,  but  we  know  enough  of  what  shall  be  to 
enable  us  to  have  quiet  hearts;  and  it  is  best  for  us 
not  to  see  what  is  to  fail  and  what  to  succeed.  Our 
ignorance  stimulates  effort,  and  drives  to  clinging  to 
God's  hand. 

Then  we  may  note  the  full  assurances  to  be  given 
to  the  'elders  of  Israel.'  Apparently  some  kind  of 
civic  organisation  had  been  kept  up,  and  there  were 
principal  people  among  the  slaves  who  had  to  be 
galvanised  first  into  enthusiasm.  So  they  are  to  be 
told  two  things, — that  Jehovah  has  appeared  to  Moses, 
and  that  He,  not  Moses  only,  will  deliver  them  and 
plant  them  in  the  land.  The  enumeration  of  the  many 
tribes  (v.  17)  might  discourage,  but  it  is  intended  to 
fire  by  the  thought  of  the  breadth  of  the  land,  which 
is  further  described  as  fertile.    The  more  exalted  our 


32  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [ch.iii. 

conceptions  of  the  inheritance,  the  more  willing  shall 
we  be  to  enter  on  the  pilgrimage  towards  it.  The 
more  we  realise  that  Jehovah  has  promised  to  lead 
us  thither,  the  more  willing  shall  we  be  to  face  dififi- 
culties  and  dangers. 

The  directions  as  to  the  opening  of  communications 
with  Pharaoh  have  often  been  made  a  difficulty,  as  if 
there  was  trickery  in  the  modest  request  for  permission 
to  go  three  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness.  But  that 
request  was  to  be  made,  knowing  that  it  would  not  be 
granted.  It  was  to  be  a  test  of  Pharaoh's  willingness  to 
submit  to  Jehovah.  Its  very  smallness  made  it  so  more 
effectually.  If  he  had  any  disposition  to  listen  to  the 
voice  speaking  through  Moses,  he  would  yield  that 
small  point.  It  is  useless  to  speculate  on  what  would 
have  happened  if  he  had  done  so.  But  probably  the 
Israelites  would  have  come  back  from  their  sacrificing. 

Of  more  importance  is  it  to  note  that  the  failure 
of  the  request  was  foreseen,  and  yet  the  effort  was 
to  be  made.  Is  not  that  the  same  paradox  which 
meets  us  in  all  the  divine  efforts  to  win  over  hard- 
hearted men  to  His  service?  Is  it  not  exactly  what 
our  Lord  did  when  He  appealed  to  Judas,  while  know- 
ing that  all  would  be  vain  ? 

The  expression  inverse  19,  'not  by  a  mighty  hand,' 
is  very  obscure.  It  may  possibly  mean  that  Pharaoh 
was  so  obstinate  that  no  human  power  was  strong 
enough  to  bend  his  will.  Therefore,  in  contrast  to 
the  'mighty  hand'  of  man,  which  was  not  mighty 
enough  for  this  work,  God  will  stretch  out  His  hand, 
and  that  will  suffice  to  compel  obedience  from  the 
proudest.  God  can  force  men  by  His  might  to  comply 
with  His  will,  so  far  as  external  acts  go ;  but  He  does 
not  regard  that  as  obedience,  nor  delight  in  it.    We 


vs.  10-20]  A  LAST  MERCIFUL  WARNING    33 

can  steel  ourselves  against  men's  power,  but  God's 
hand  can  crush  and  break  the  strongest  w^ill.  *  It  is  a 
fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God.' 
It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  put  ourselves  into  them,  in 
order  to  be  moulded  by  their  loving  touch.  The  alter- 
native is  laid  before  every  soul  of  man. 


A  LAST  MERCIFUL  WARNING 

'And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Yet  will  I  bring  one  plague  more  upon  Pharaoh, 
and  upon  Egypt ;  afterwards  he  will  let  you  go  hence  :  when  he  shall  let  you  go, 
he  shall  surely  thrust  you  out  hence  altogether.  2.  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of  the 
people,  and  let  every  man  borrow  of  his  neighbour,  and  every  woman  of  her 
neighbour,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold.  3.  And  the  Lord  gave  the  people 
favour  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians.  Moreover,  the  man  Moses  was  very  great  in 
the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh's  servants,  and  in  the  sight  of  the  people. 
4.  And  Moses  said.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  About  midnight  will  I  go  out  into  the 
midst  of  Egypt :  5.  And  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  die,  from  the 
first-born  of  Pharaoh  that  sitteth  upon  his  throne,  even  unto  the  first-born  of  the 
maid-servant  that  is  behind  the  mill ;  and  all  the  first-born  of  beasts.  6.  And  there 
ehall  be  a  great  cry  throughout  aU  the  land  of  Egypt,  such  as  ohere  was  none  like 
it,  nor  shall  be  like  it  any  more.  7.  But  against  any  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall 
not  a  dog  move  his  tongue,  against  man  or  beast :  that  ye  may  know  how  that  the 
Lord  doth  put  a  difference  between  the  Egyptians  and  Israel.  8.  And  all  these 
thy  servants  shall  come  down  unto  Me,  and  bow  themselves  unto  Me,  saying.  Get 
Thee  out,  and  all  the  people  that  follow  Thee :  and  after  that  I  will  go  out.  And 
he  went  out  from  Pharaoh  in  a  great  anger.  9.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Pharaoh  shall  not  hearken  unto  you ;  that  My  wonders  may  be  multiplied  in  the 
land  of  Egypt.  10.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  all  these  wonders  before  Pharaoh : 
and  the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  so  that  he  would  not  let  the  children  of 
Israel  go  out  of  his  land.'— Exodus  xi.  1-10. 

The  first  point  to  be  noted  in  this  passage  is  that  it 
interposes  a  solemn  pause  betw^een  the  preceding  in- 
effectual plagues  and  the  last  effectual  one.  There  is 
an  awful  lull  in  the  storm  before  the  last  crashing 
hurricane  which  lays  every  obstacle  flat.  *  There  is 
silence  in  heaven'  before  the  final  peal  of  thunder. 
Verses  1  to  3  seem,  at  first  sight,  out  of  place,  as 
interrupting  the  narrative,  since  Moses'  denunciation 
and  prophecy  in  verses  4  to  8  must  have  been  spoken 
at  the  interview  with  Pharaoh  which  we  find  going 
on  at  the  end  of  the  preceding   chapter.    But  it  is 

c 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xi. 

legitimate  to  suppose  that,  at  the  very  moment  when 
Pharaoh  was  blustering  and  threatening,  and  Moses 
was  bearding  him,  giving  back  scorn  for  scorn,  the 
latter  heard  with  the  inward  ear  the  voice  which  made 
Pharaoh's  words  empty  wind,  and  gave  him  the  assur- 
ances and  commands  contained  in  verses  1  to  3,  and 
that  thus  it  was  given  him  in  that  hour  what  he  should 
speak;  namely,  the  prediction  that  follows  in  verses 
4  to  8.  Such  a  view  of  the  sequence  of  the  passage 
makes  it  much  more  vivid,  dramatic,  and  natural,  than 
to  suppose  that  the  first  verses  are  either  interpolation 
or  an  awkward  break  referring  to  a  revelation  at  some 
indefinite  previous  moment.  When  a  Pharaoh  or  a 
Herod  or  an  Agrippa  threatens,  God  speaks  to  the 
heart  of  a  Moses  or  a  Paul,  and  makes  His  servant's 
face  *  strong  against  their  faces.' 

The  same  purpose  of  parting  off  the  preceding  plagues 
from  the  past  ones  explains  the  introduction  of  verses 
9  and  10,  which  stand  as  a  summary  of  the  whole 
account  of  these,  and,  as  it  were,  draw  a  line  across  the 
page,  before  beginning  the  story  of  that  eventful  day 
and  night  of  Israel's  deliverance. 

Moses'  conviction,  which  he  knew  to  be  not  his  own 
thought  but  God's  revelation  of  His  purpose,  pointed 
first  to  the  final  blow  which  was  to  finish  Pharaoh's 
resistance.  He  had  been  vacillating  between  com- 
pliance and  refusal,  like  an  elastic  ball  which  yields  to 
compression  and  starts  back  to  its  swelling  rotundity 
as  soon  as  the  pressure  is  taken  off.  But  at  last  he  will 
collapse  altogether,  like  the  same  ball  when  a  slit  is 
cut  in  it,  and  it  shrivels  into  a  shapeless  lump.  Weak 
people's  obstinate  fits  end  like  that.  He  will  be  as 
extreme  in  his  eagerness  to  get  rid  of  the  Israelites  as 
he  had  been  in  his  determination  to  keep  them.     The 


vs.  MO]    A  LAST  MERCIFUL  WARNING    35 

sail  that  is  filled  one  moment  tumbles  in  a  heap  the 
next,  when  the  halyards  are  cut.  It  is  a  poor  affair 
when  a  man's  actions  are  shaped  mainly  by  fear  of 
consequences.  Fright  always  drives  to  extremes. 
•  When  he  shall  let  you  go,  he  shall  surely  thrust  you 
out  hence  altogether.'  Many  a  stout,  God-opposing 
will  collapses  altogether  when  God's  finger  touches  it. 
'Can  thy  heart  endure  in  the  days  that  I  shall  deal 
with  thee  ? ' 

Verses  2  and  3  appear  irrelevant  here,  but  the  com- 
mand to  collect  from  the  Egyptians  jewels,  which 
might  be  bartered  for  necessaries,  may  well  have  been 
given  to  Moses  simultaneously  with  the  assurance  that 
he  would  lead  forth  the  people  after  the  next  plague, 
and  the  particulars  of  the  people's  favour  and  of  Moses' 
influence  in  the  eyes  of  the  native  inhabitants,  come 
in  anticipatively  to  explain  why  the  request  for  such 
contributions  was  granted  when  made. 

With  the  new  divine  command  swelling  in  his  heart, 
Moses  speaks  his  last  word  to  Pharaoh,  towering  above 
him  in  righteous  wrath,  and  dwindling  his  empty 
threats  into  nothingness.  What  a  contrast  between 
the  impotent  rage  of  the  despot,  with  his  vain  threat, 
'  Thou  shalt  die,'  and  the  unblenching  boldness  of  the 
man  with  God  at  his  back!  One  cannot  but  note  in 
Moses'  prediction  of  the  last  plague  the  solemn  en- 
largement on  the  details  of  the  widespread  calamity, 
which  is  not  unfeeling  gloating  over  an  oppressor's 
misery,  but  a  yearning  to  save  from  hideous  misery  by 
timely  and  plain  depicting  of  it.  There  is  a  flash  of 
national  triumph  in  the  further  contrast  between  the 
universal  wailing  in  Egypt  and  the  untouched  security 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  but  that  feeling  merges  at 
once  into  the  higher  one  of  '  the  Lord's '  gracious  action 


36  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS        [ch.  xi. 

in  establishing  the  '  difference '  between  them  and  their 
oppressors.  It  is  not  safe  to  dwell  on  superiority  over 
others,  either  as  to  condition  or  character,  unless  we 
print  in  very  large  letters  that  it  is  *  the  Lord '  who  has 
made  it.  There  is  a  flash,  too,  of  natural  triumph  in 
the  picture  of  the  proud  courtiers  brought  down  to 
prostrate  themselves  before  the  shepherd  from  Horeb, 
and  to  pray  him  to  do  what  their  master  and  they 
had  so  long  fought  against  his  doing.  And  there  is 
a  most  natural  assertion  of  non-dependence  on  their 
leave  in  that  emphatic  '  After  that  /  will  go  out.'  He 
is  not  asserting  himself  against  God,  but  against  the 
cowering  courtiers.  '  Hot  anger '  was  excusable,  but  it 
was  not  the  best  mood  in  which  to  leave  Pharaoh. 
Better  if  he  had  gone  out  unmoved,  or  moved  only  to 
'great  heaviness  and  sorrow  of  heart'  at  the  sight  of 
men  setting  themselves  against  God,  and  rushing  on 
the  *  thick  bosses  of  the  Almighty's  buckler '  to  their 
own  ruin.  Moses'  anger  we  naturally  sympathise  with, 
Christ's  meekness  we  should  try  to  copy. 

The  closing  verses,  as  we  have  already  noticed,  are  a 
kind  of  summing-up  of  the  whole  narrative  of  the 
plagues  and  their  effects  on  Pharaoh.  They  open  two 
difficult  questions,  as  to  how  and  why  it  was  that  the 
effect  of  the  successive  strokes  was  so  slight  and 
transient.  They  give  the  '  how '  very  emphatically  as 
being  that '  Jehovah  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart.'  Does 
that  not  free  Pharaoh  from  guilt?  And  does  it  not 
suggest  an  unworthy  conception  of  God  ?  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  preceding  narrative  employs  not 
only  the  phrase  that  'Jehovah  hardened  Pharaoh's 
heart,'  but  also  the  expression  that  Pharaoh  hardened 
his  own  heart.  And  it  is  further  to  be  noted  that  the 
latter  expression  is  employed  in  the  accounts  of  the 


vs.  1-10]    A  LAST  MERCIFUL  WARNING    37 

earlier  plagues,  and  that  the  former  one  appears  only 
towards  the  close  of  the  series.  So  then,  even  if  we 
are  to  suppose  that  it  means  that  there  was  a  direct 
hardening  action  by  God  on  the  man's  heart,  such 
action  was  not  first,  but  subsequent  to  obstinate 
hardening  by  himself.  God  hardens  no  man's  heart 
who  has  not  first  hardened  it  himself.  But  we  do  not 
need  to  conclude  that  any  inward  action  on  the  will  is 
meant.  Was  not  the  accumulation  of  plagues,  intended, 
as  they  were,  to  soften,  a  cause  of  hardening  ?  Does 
not  the  Gospel,  if  rejected,  harden,  making  consciences 
and  wills  less  susceptible  ?  Is  it  not  a  '  savour  of  death 
unto  death,'  as  our  fathers  recognised  in  speaking  of 
'  gospel-hardened  sinners '  ?  The  same  fire  softens  wax 
and  hardens  clay.  Whosoever  is  not  brought  near  is 
driven  farther  off,  by  the  influences  which  God  brings 
to  bear  on  us. 

The  'why'  is  stated  in  terms  which  may  suggest 
difficulties, — 'that  my  wonders  may  be  multiplied  in 
the  land  of  Egypt.'  But  we  have  to  remember  that 
the  Old  Testament  writers  are  not  wont  to  distinguish 
so  sharply  as  more  logical  Westerns  do  between  the 
actual  result  of  an  event  and  its  purpose.  With  their 
deep  faith  in  the  all-ruling  power  of  God,  whatever 
had  come  to  pass  was  what  He  had  meant  to  come  to 
pass.  In  fact,  Pharaoh's  obstinacy  had  not  thwarted 
the  divine  purpose,  but  had  been  the  dark  background 
against  which  the  blaze  of  God's  irresistible  might  had 
shone  the  brighter.  He  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to 
praise  Him,  and  turns  opposition  into  the  occasion  of 
more  conspicuously  putting  forth  His  omnipotence. 


THE  PASSOVER :  AN  EXPIATIOlSr  AND  A  FEAST, 
A  MEMORIAL  AND  A  PROPHECY 

'  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying,  2. 
This  month  shall  be  unto  you  the  beginning  of  months  :  it  shall  be  the  first  month 
of  the  year  to  you.  3.  Speak  yo  unto  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  saying.  In  the 
tenth  day  of  this  month  they  shall  take  to  them  every  man  a  lamb,  according  to 
the  house  of  their  fathers,  a  lamb  for  an  house  :  4.  And  If  the  household  be  too 
little  for  the  lamb,  let  him  and  his  neighbour  next  unto  his  house  take  it  according 
to  the  number  of  the  souls ;  every  man  according  to  his  eating  shall  make  your 
count  for  the  lamb.  5.  Your  lamb  shall  be  without  blemish,  a  male  of  the  first 
year :  ye  shall  take  it  out  from  the  sheep,  or  from  the  goats  :  6.  And  ye  shall  keep 
it  up  until  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  same  month :  and  the  whole  assembly  of  the 
congregation  of  Israel  shall  kill  it  in  the  evening.  7.  And  they  shall  take  of  the 
blood,  and  strike  it  on  the  two  side  posts  and  on  the  upper  door  post  of  the  houses, 
wherein  they  shall  eat  it,  8.  And  they  shall  eat  the  flesh  in  that  night,  roast  with 
fire,  and  unleavened  bread ;  and  with  bitter  herbs  they  shall  eat  it.  9.  Eat  not  of 
it  raw,  nor  sodden  at  all  with  water,  but  roast  with  fire  ;  his  head  with  his  legs, 
and  with  the  purtenance  thereof.  10.  And  ye  shall  let  nothing  of  it  remain  until 
the  morning ;  and  that  which  remaineth  of  it  until  the  morning  ye  shall  burn  with 
fire.  11.  And  thus  shall  ye  eat  it ;  with  your  loins  girded,  your  shoes  on  your  feet, 
and  your  staff  in  your  hand  ;  and  ye  shall  eat  it  in  haste :  it  is  the  Lord's  passover. 
12.  For  I  will  pass  through  the  land  of  Egypt  this  night,  and  will  smite  all  the  first- 
born in  the  land  of  Egypt,  both  man  and  beast ;  and  against  all  the  gods  of  Egypt 
I  will  execute  judgment :  I  am  the  Lord.  13.  And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a 
token  upon  the  houses  where  ye  are :  and  when  I  see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over 
yon,  and  the  plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  you,  when  I  smite  the  land  of 
Egypt.  14.  And  this  day  shall  be  unto  you  for  a  memorial ;  and  ye  shall  keep  it  a 
feast  to  the  Lord  throughout  your  generations ;  ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  by  an 
ordinance  for  ever.'— Exodus  xii.  1-14. 

The  Passover  ritual,  as  appointed  here,  divides  itself 
into  two  main  parts — the  sprinkling  of  the  sacrificial 
blood  on  the  door-posts  and  lintels,  and  the  feast  on 
the  sacrifice.  These  can  best  be  dealt  with  separately. 
They  were  separated  in  the  later  form  of  the  ritual ; 
for,  when  there  was  a  central  sanctuary,  the  lambs 
were  slain  there,  and  the  blood  sprinkled,  as  in  other 
expiatory  sacrifices,  on  the  altar,  while  the  domestic 
feast  remained  unaltered.  The  former  was  more 
especially  meant  to  preserve  the  Israelites  from  the 
destruction  of  their  first-born ;  the  latter  as  a  per- 
manent memorial  of  their  deliverance.  But  both  have 
perpetual  fitness  as  prophetic  of  varying  aspects  of  the 
Christian  redemption. 

S8 


vs.  1-u]  THE  PASSOVER  89 

I.  The  ritual  of  the  protecting  blood. 

In  the  hurry  and  agitation  of  that  eventful  day,  it 
must  have  seemed  strange  to  the  excited  people  that 
they  should  be  called  upon  to  observe  such  a  service. 
But  its  institution  at  that  crisis  is  in  accordance  with 
the  whole  tone  of  the  story  of  the  Exodus,  in  which 
man  is  nothing  and  God  all.  Surely,  never  was 
national  deliverance  effected  so  absolutely  without 
effort  or  blow  struck.  If  we  try  to  realise  the  state  of 
mind  of  the  Israelites  on  that  night,  we  shall  feel  how 
significant  of  the  true  nature  of  their  deliverance  this 
summons  to  an  act  of  worship,  in  the  midst  of  their 
hurry,  must  have  been. 

The  domestic  character  of  the  rite  is  its  first  marked 
feature.  Of  course,  there  wore  neither  temple  nor 
priests  then ;  but  that  does  not  wholly  account  for  the 
provision  that  every  household,  unless  too  few  in 
number  to  consume  a  whole  lamb,  should  have  its  own 
sacrifice,  slain  by  its  head.  The  first  purpose  of  the 
rite,  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  each  house  by  the 
sprinkled  blood,  partly  explains  it;  but  the  deepest 
reason  is,  no  doubt,  the  witness  which  was  thereby 
borne  to  the  universal  priesthood  of  the  nation.  The 
patriarchal  order  made  each  man  the  priest  of  his 
house.  This  rite,  which  lay  at  the  foundation  of 
Israel's  nationality,  proclaimed  that  a  restricted 
priestly  class  was  a  later  expedient.  The  primitive 
formation  crops  out  here,  as  witness  that,  even  where 
hid  beneath  later  deposits,  it  underlies  them  aU. 

We  have  called  the  Passover  a  sacrifice.  That  has 
been  disputed,  but  unreasonably.  No  doubt,  it  was  a 
peculiar  kind  of  sacrifice,  unlike  those  of  the  later 
ritual  in  many  respects,  and  scarcely  capable  of  being 
classified  among  them.    But  it  is  important  to  keep  its 


40  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xii. 

strictly  sacrificial  character  in  view ;  for  it  is  essential 
to  its  meaning  and  to  its  typical  aspect.  The  proofs  of 
its  sacrificial  nature  are  abundant.  The  instructions 
as  to  the  selection  of  the  lamb ;  the  method  of  dispos- 
ing of  the  blood,  which  was  sprinkled  with  hyssop — 
a  peculiarly  sacrificial  usage ;  the  treatment  of  the 
remainder  after  the  feast ;  the  very  feast  itself, — all 
testify  that  it  was  a  sacrifice  in  the  most  accurate  use 
of  the  word.  The  designation  of  it  as  'a  passover  to 
the  Lord,'  and  in  set  terms  as  a  *  sacrifice,'  in  verse  27 
and  elsewhere,  to  say  nothing  of  its  later  form  when  it 
became  a  regular  Temple  sacrifice,  or  of  Paul's  distinct 
language  in  1  Corinthians  v.  7,  or  of  Peter's  quotation 
of  the  very  words  of  verse  5,  applied  to  Christ, '  a  lamb 
without  blemish,'  all  point  in  the  same  direction. 

But  if  a  sacrifice,  what  kind  of  sacrifice  was  it? 
Clearly,  the  first  purpose  was  that  the  blood  might  be 
sprinkled  on  the  door-posts  and  lintels,  and  so  the 
house  be  safe  when  the  destroying  angel  passed 
through  the  land.  Such  is  the  explanation  given  in 
verse  13,  which  is  the  divine  declaration  of  its  meaning. 
This  is  the  centre  of  the  rite ;  from  it  the  name  was 
derived.  Whether  readers  accept  the  doctrines  of 
substitution  and  expiation  or  not,  it  ought  to  be  im- 
possible for  an  honest  reader  of  these  verses  to  deny 
that  these  doctrines  or  thoughts  are  there.  They  may 
be  only  the  barbarous  notions  of  a  half-savage  age  and 
people.  But,  whatever  they  are,  there  they  are.  The 
lamb  without  blemish  carefully  chosen  and  kept  for 
four  days,  till  it  had  become  as  it  were  part  of  the 
household,  and  then  solemnly  slain  by  the  head  of  the 
family,  was  their  representative.  When  they  sprinkled 
its  blood  on  the  posts,  they  confessed  that  they  stood 
in  peril  of  the  destroying  angel  by  reason  of  their  im- 


vs.  1-14]  THE  PASSOVER  41 

purity,  and  they  presented  the  blood  as  their  expiation. 
In  so  far,  their  act  was  an  act  of  confession,  depreca- 
tion, and  faith.  It  accepted  the  divinely  appointed 
means  of  safety.  The  consequence  was  exemption 
from  the  fatal  stroke,  which  fell  on  all  homes  from  the 
palace  to  the  slaves'  hovel,  where  that  red  streak  was 
not  found.  If  any  son  of  Abraham  had  despised  the 
provision  for  safety,  he  would  have  been  partaker  of 
the  plague. 

All  this  refers  only  to  exemption  from  outward 
punishment,  and  we  are  not  obliged  to  attribute  to 
these  terrified  bondmen  any  higher  thoughts.  But 
clearly  their  obedience  to  the  command  implied  a 
measure  of  belief  in  the  divine  voice;  and  the  com- 
mand embodied,  though  in  application  to  a  transient 
judgment,  the  broad  principles  of  sacrificial  substitu- 
tion, of  expiation  by  blood,  and  of  safety  by  the  in- 
dividual application  of  that  shed  blood. 

In  other  words,  the  Passover  is  a  Gospel  before  the 
Gospel.  We  are  sometimes  told  that  in  its  sacrificial 
ideas  Christianity  is  still  dressing  itself  in  'Hebrew 
old  clothes.'  We  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
whole  sacrificial  system  of  Judaism  had  for  its  highest 
purpose  to  shadow  forth  the  coming  redemption. 
Christ  is  not  spoken  of  as  '  our  Passover,'  because  the 
Mosaic  ritual  had  happened  to  have  that  ceremonial ; 
but  the  Mosaic  ritual  had  that  ceremonial  mainly 
because  Christ  is  our  Passover,  and,  by  His  blood  shed 
on  the  Cross  and  sprinkled  on  our  consciences,  does  in 
spiritual  reality  that  which  the  Jewish  Passover  only 
did  in  outward  form.  All  other  questions  about  the 
Old  Testament,  however  interesting  and  hotly  con- 
tested, are  of  secondary  importance  compared  with 
this.    Is  its  chief  purpose  to  prophesy  of  Christ,  His 


42  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xii. 

atoning  death,  His  kingdom  and  church,  or  is  it  not? 
The  New  Testament  has  no  doubt  of  the  answer.  The 
Evangelist  John  finds  in  the  singular  swiftness  of  our 
Lord's  death,  which  secured  the  exemption  of  His 
sacred  body  from  the  violence  inflicted  on  His  fellow- 
sufferers,  a  fulfilment  of  the  paschal  injunction  that 
not  a  bone  should  be  broken ;  and  so,  by  one  passing 
allusion,  shows  that  he  recognised  Christ  as  the  true 
Passover.  John  the  Baptist's  rapturous  exclamation, 
'  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God ! '  blends  allusions  to  the 
Passover,  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  Isaiah's  great  pro- 
phecy. The  day  of  the  Crucifixion,  regarded  as  fixed 
by  divine  Providence,  may  be  taken  as  God's  own 
finger  pointing  to  the  Lamb  whom  He  has  provided. 
Paul's  language  already  referred  to  attests  the  same 
truth.  And  even  the  last  lofty  visions  of  the  Apo- 
calypse, where  the  old  man  in  Patmos  so  touchingly 
recurs  to  the  earliest  words  which  brought  him  to 
Jesus,  echo  the  same  conviction,  and  disclose,  amidst 
the  glories  of  the  throne,  '  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been 
slain.' 

II.  The  festal  meal  on  the  sacrifice. 

After  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  came  the  feast. 
Only  when  the  house  was  secure  from  the  destruction 
which  walked  in  the  darkness  of  that  fateful  night, 
could  a  delivered  household  gather  round  the  board. 
That  which  had  become  their  safety  now  became  their 
food.  Other  sacrifices  were,  at  a  later  period,  modelled 
on  the  same  type ;  and  in  all  cases  the  symbolism  is 
the  same,  namely,  joyful  participation  in  the  sacrifice, 
and  communion  with  God  based  upon  expiation.  In 
the  Passover,  this  second  stage  received  for  future 
ages  the  further  meaning  of  a  memorial.  But  on  that 
first  night  it  was  only  such  by  anticipation,  seeing  that 


vs.  1-1 4]  THE  PASSOVER  48 

it  preceded  the  deliverance  which  it  was  afterwards  to 
conlInem^orate. 

The  manner  of  preparing  the  feast  and  the  manner 
of  partaking  of  it  are  both  significant.  The  former 
provided  that  the  lamb  should  be  roasted,  not  boiled, 
apparently  in  order  to  secure  its  being  kept  whole ; 
and  the  same  purpose  suggested  the  other  prescriptions 
that  it  was  to  be  served  up  entire,  and  with  bones 
unbroken.  The  reason  for  this  seems  to  be  that 
thus  the  unity  of  the  partakers  was  more  plainly 
shown.  All  ate  of  one  undivided  whole,  and  were 
thus,  in  a  real  sense,  one.  So  the  Apostle  deduces 
the  unity  of  the  Church  from  the  oneness  of  the 
bread  of  which  they  in  the  Christian  Passover  par- 
take. 

It  was  to  be  eaten  with  the  accompaniments  of  bitter 
herbs,  usually  explained  as  memorials  of  the  bondage, 
which  had  made  the  lives  bitter,  and  the  remembrance 
of  which  would  sweeten  their  deliverance,  even  as  the 
pungent  condiments  brought  out  the  savour  of  the 
food.  The  further  accompaniment  of  unleavened 
bread  seems  to  have  the  same  signification  as  the 
appointment  that  they  were  to  eat  with  their  garments 
gathered  round  their  loins,  their  feet  shod,  and  staves 
in  hand.  All  these  were  partly  necessities  in  their 
urgent  hurry,  and  partly  a  dramatic  representation 
for  later  days  of  the  very  scene  of  the  first  Passover. 
A  strange  feast  indeed,  held  while  the  beat  of  the 
pinions  of  the  destroying  angel  could  almost  be  heard, 
devoured  in  hot  haste  by  anxious  men  standing  ready 
for  a  perilous  journey,  the  end  whereof  none  knew! 
The  gladness  would  be  strangely  dashed  with  terror 
and  foreboding.  Truly,  though  they  feasted  on  a 
sacrifice,  they  had  bitter  herbs  with  it,  and,  standing, 


44  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xii. 

swallowed  their  portions,  expecting  every  moment  to 
be  summoned  to  the  march. 

The  Passover  as  a  feast  is  a  prophecy  of  the  great 
Sacrifice,  by  virtue  of  whose  sprinkled  blood  we  all 
may  be  sheltered  from  the  sweep  of  the  divine  judg- 
ment, and  on  which  we  all  have  to  feed  if  there  is  to  be 
any  life  in  us.  Our  propitiation  is  our  food.  '  Christ  for 
us '  must  become  '  Christ  in  us,'  received  and  appro- 
priated by  our  faith  as  the  strength  of  our  lives.  The 
Christian  life  is  meant  to  be  a  joyful  feast  on  the 
Sacrifice,  and  communion  with  God  based  upon  it.  We 
feast  on  Christ  when  the  mind  feeds  on  Him  as  truth, 
when  the  heart  is  filled  and  satisfied  with  His  love, 
when  the  conscience  clings  to  Him  as  its  peace,  when 
the  will  esteems  the  'words  of  His  mouth  more  than' 
its  '  necessary  food,'  when  all  desires,  hopes,  and  inward 
powers  draw  their  supplies  from  Him,  and  find  their 
object  in  His  sweet  sufficiency. 

Nor  will  the  accompaniments  of  the  first  Passover  be 
wanting.  Here  we  feast  in  the  night ;  the  dawn  will 
bring  freedom  and  escape.  Here  we  eat  the  glad 
Bread  of  God,  not  unseasoned  with  bitter  herbs  of 
sorrow  and  memories  of  the  bondage,  whose  chains  ^re 
dropping  from  our  uplifted  hands.  Here  we  should 
partake  of  that  hidden  nourishment,  in  such  manner 
that  it  hinders  not  our  readiness  for  outward  service. 
It  is  not  yet  time  to  sit  at  His  table,  but  to  stand  with 
loins  girt,  and  feet  shod,  and  hands  grasping  the 
pilgrim  staff.  Here  we  are  to  eat  for  strength,  and 
to  blend  with  our  secret  hours  of  meditation  the  holy 
activities  of  the  pilgrim  life. 

That  feast  was,  further,  appointed  with  a  view  to  its 
future  use  as  a  memorial.  It  was  held  before  the 
deliverance  which  it  commemorated  had  been  accom- 


vs.  l-U]  THE  PASSOVER  45 

plished.  A  new  era  was  to  be  reckoned  from  it.  The 
month  of  the  Exodus  was  thenceforward  to  be  the  first 
of  the  year.  The  memorial  purpose  of  the  rite  has 
been  accomplished.  All  over  the  world  it  is  still 
observed,  so  many  hundred  years  after  its  institu- 
tion, being  thus,  probably,  the  oldest  religious  cere- 
monial in  existence.  Once  more  aliens  in  many  lands, 
the  Jewish  race  still,  year  by  year,  celebrate  that  de- 
liverance, so  tragically  unlike  their  homeless  present, 
and  with  indomitable  hope,  at  each  successive  celebra- 
tion, repeat  the  expectation,  so  long  cherished  in  vain, 
'  This  year,  here ;  next  year,  in  the  land  of  Israel.  This 
year,  slaves ;  next  year,  freemen.'  There  can  be  few 
stronger  attestations  of  historical  events  than  the 
keeping  of  days  commemorating  them,  if  traced  back 
to  the  event  they  commemorate.  So  this  Passover, 
like  Guy  Fawkes'  Day  in  England,  or  Thanksgiving 
Day  in  America,  remains  for  a  witness  even  now. 

What  an  incomprehensible  stretch  of  authority 
Christ  put  forth,  if  He  were  no  more  than  a  teacher, 
when  He  brushed  aside  the  Passover,  and  put  in  its 
place  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  commemorating  His  own 
death !  Thereby  He  said, '  Forget  that  past  deliverance ; 
instead,  remember  Me.'  Surely  this  was  either  audacity 
approaching  insanity,  or  divine  consciousness  that  He 
Himself  was  the  true  Paschal  Lamb,  whose  blood 
shields  the  world  from  judgment,  and  on  whom  the 
world  may  feast  and  be  satisfied.  Christ's  deliberate 
intention  to  represent  His  death  as  expiation,  and  to 
fix  the  reverential,  grateful  gaze  of  all  future  ages 
on  His  Cross,  cannot  be  eliminated  from  His  founding 
of  that  memorial  rite  in  substitution  for  the  God- 
appointed  ceremonial,  so  hoary  with  age  and  sacred  in 
its  significance.    Like  the  Passover,  the  Lord's  Supper 


46  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xiii. 

was  established  before  the  deliverance  was  accom- 
plished. It  remains  a  witness  at  once  of  the  historical 
fact  of  the  death  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  meaning  and 
power  which  Jesus  Himself  bade  us  to  see  in  that 
death.  For  us,  redeemed  by  His  blood,  the  past  should 
be  filled  with  His  sacrifice.  For  us,  fed  on  Himself,  all 
the  present  should  be  communion  with  Him,  based 
upon  His  death  for  us.  For  us,  freed  bondmen,  the 
memorial  of  deliverance  begun  by  His  Cross  should  be 
the  prophecy  of  deliverance  to  be  completed  at  the 
side  of  His  throne,  and  the  hasty  meal,  eaten  with 
bitter  herbs,  the  adumbration  of  the  feast  when  all  the 
pilgrims  shall  sit  with  Him  at  His  table  in  His  king- 
dom. Past,  present,  and  future  should  all  be  to  us 
saturated  with  Jesus  Christ.  Memory  should  furnish 
hope  with  colours,  canvas,  and  subjects  for  her  fair 
pictures,  and  both  be  fixed  on  '  Christ  our  Passover, 
sacrificed  for  us.' 


THOUGHT,  DEED,  WORD 

'It  shall  be  for  a  sign  unto  thee  upon  thine  hand,  and  for  a  memorial  between 
thine  eyes,  that  the  Lord's  law  may  be  in  thy  mouth.'— Exodus  xiii.  9. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  whether  this  command  is 
to  be  taken  metaphorically  or  literally.  No  doubt  the 
remembrance  of  the  great  deliverance  was  intrusted 
to  acts.  Besides  the  annual  Passover  feasts,  inscrip- 
tions on  the  door-posts  and  fringes  on  the  dress  were 
appointed  for  this  purpose.  And  the  Jews  from  a  very 
early  period,  certainly  before  our  Lord's  time,  wore 
phylacteries  fastened,  as  this  and  other  places  prescribe, 
on  the  left  arm  and  on  the  forehead,  and  alleged  these 


V.9]  THOUGHT,  DEED,  WORD  47 

words  as  the  commandment  which  they  therein  obeyed. 
But  it  seems  more  probable  that  the  meaning  is  meta- 
phorical, and  that  what  is  enjoined  is  rather  a  constant 
remembrance  of  the  great  deliverance,  and  a  constant 
regulation  of  the  practical  life  by  it.  For  what  is  it 
that  is  to  be  •  a  sign '  ?  It  is  the  Passover  feast.  And 
the  •  therefore '  of  the  next  verse  seems  to  say  that 
keeping  this  ordinance  in  its  season  is  the  fulfilment 
of  this  precept.  Besides,  the  expression  'for  a  sign,' 
•  for  a  memorial,'  may  just  as  well  mean  *  it  shall  serve 
as,'  or  *  it  shall  be  like,'  as  *  you  shall  wear.'  So  I  think 
we  must  say  that  this  is  a  figure,  not  a  fact ;  the  enjoin- 
ing of  an  object  for  thought  and  a  motive  for  life,  not  of 
a  formal  observance.  And  it  is  very  characteristic  of 
the  Jew,  and  of  the  universal  tendency  to  harden  and 
lower  religion  into  outward  rites,  that  a  command  so 
wide  and  profound  was  supposed  to  be  kept  by  fasten- 
ing little  boxes  with  four  slips  of  parchment  containing 
extracts  from  the  Pentateuch  on  arm  and  forehead. 
Jewish  rabbis  are  not  the  only  people  who  treat  God's 
law  like  that.  Even  if  literal,  the  injunction  is  for  the 
purpose  of  remembering.  Taking  that  meaning,  then, 
the  text  sets  forth  principles  that  apply  quite  as  much 
to  us.  You  will  observe  'hand,'  'eyes,'  'mouth';  the 
symbols  of  practice,  knowledge,  expression ;  work, 
thought,  and  word.  Observe  also  that  there  is  a  slight 
change  in  construction  in  the  three  clauses;  the  two 
former  are  to  be  done  in  order  that  the  latter  may 
come  to  pass.  Then  the  memorial  of  the  great  deliver- 
ance is  to  be  *  on  the  hand '  and  '  before  the  eyes,'  in 
order  that  'the  Lord's  law'  may  be  'in  the  mouth.' 
Keeping  these  points  in  view — 

I.  God's  great  deliverance  should  be  constantly  before 
our  thoughts. 


48  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xiii. 

It  is  more  than  an  accident  that  both  Judaism 
and  Christianity  should  begin  with  a  great  act  of 
deliverance ;  that  that  act  of  deliverance  should  con- 
stitute a  community,  and  that  a  memorial  rite  should 
be  the  centre  of  the  ritual  of  both.  The  Lord's 
Supper  historically  took  the  place  of  the  Passover.  It 
was  instituted  at  the  Passover  and  instead  of  it.  It 
is  precisely  the  same  in  design,  a  memorial  feast 
appointed  to  keep  up  the  vivid  remembrance  of  the 
historical  fact  to  which  redemption  is  traced  ;  and  not 
only  to  keep  up  its  remembrance,  but  to  proclaim  the 
importance  of  extending  that  remembrance  through 
all  life. 

Notice  the  peculiarity  of  both  the  Jewish  and  the 
Christian  rite,  that  the  centre  point  of  both  is  a  histori- 
cal fact,  a  redeeming  act.  Judaism  and  Christianity 
are  the  only  religions  in  regard  to  which  this  is  true 
to  anything  like  the  same  extent  or  in  the  same  way. 
Christianity  as  a  revelation  is  not  so  much  the  utter- 
ance in  words  of  great  religious  thoughts  as  the  history 
of  a  life  and  a  death,  a  fact  wrought  upon  the  earth, 
which  is  at  once  the  means  of  revelation  and  the  means 
of  redemption.  This  is  a  feature  unshared  by  other 
religions. 

This  characteristic  determines  the  principal  object 
of  our  religious  thought.  The  true  object  for  religious 
thought  is  Christ,  and  His  life  and  death. 

All  religious  truth  flows  from  and  is  wrapped  up  in 
that :  e.g.  theology,  or  the  nature  of  God ;  anthropology, 
or  the  nature  of  man ;  soteriology,  morality,  etc.  All 
truth  for  the  individual  and  for  the  race  has  its  source 
in  God's  great  redeeming  act.  Religious  emotion  is 
best  fed  at  this  source,  e.g.  thankfulness,  wonder, 
love :  all  these  transcendent  feelings  which  are  melted 


V.  9]  THOUGHT,  DEED,  WORD  49 

together  in  adoration.  Here  is  where  they  are  kindled. 
You  cannot  pump  them  up,  or  bring  them  into  existence 
by  willing,  or  scourge  yourself  into  them,  any  more 
than  you  can  make  a  seed  grow  by  pulling  at  the  germ 
with  a  pair  of  pincers,  but  this  gives  the  warmth  and 
moisture  which  make  it  germinate. 

The  clear  perception  of  this  truth  is  valuable,  as 
correcting  false  tendencies  in  religion,  e.g.  the  tendency 
to  be  much  occupied  with  the  derived  truths,  and  to 
think  of  them  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  great  fact 
from  which  they  come;  the  tendency  to  substitute 
melancholy  self -inspection  for  objective  facts ;  the  ten- 
dency to  run  out  into  mere  feeling. 

The  command  requires  of  us  a  habitual  occupation 
of  mind  with  the  great  deliverance. 

And  the  habitual  presence  of  this  thought  will  be 
best  secured  by  specific  times  of  occupation  with  it. 
Let  every  Christian  practise  the  habit  of  meditation, 
which  in  an  age  of  so  many  books,  newspapers,  and 
the  distractions  of  our  busy  modern  life,  is  apt  to 
become  obsolete. 

II.  The  great  deliverance  is  to  be  ever  present  in 
practical  life. 

The  '  hand '  is  clearly  the  seat  and  home  of  power 
and  practical  effort.  So  the  remembrance  is  to  be 
present  and  to  preside  over  our  practical  work. 

How  it  is  fitted  to  do  so. 

(a)  It  gives  the  law  for  all  our  activity. 

The  pattern.  The  death  as  well  as  the  life  of  Christ 
teaches  us  what  we  ought  to  be. 

The  motive.  He  died  for  me !  Shall  I  not  serve  Him 
who  redeemed  me  ? 

(6)  That  remembered  deliverance  arms  us  against 
temptations,  and  lifts  us  above  sinking  into  sin. 

D 


50  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xiii. 

How  blessed  such  a  life  would  be !  How  victorious 
over  the  small  motives  that  rule  one's  life,  the  deaden- 
ing influence  of  routine,  the  duties  that  are  felt  to  be 
overwhelmingly  great  and  those  that  are  felt  to  be 
wearisomely  and  monotonously  small  I  How  this  unity 
of  motive  would  give  unity  to  life  and  simplify  its  pro- 
blems I  How  it  would  free  us  from  many  a  perplexity  I 
There  are  so  many  things  that  seem  doubtful  because 
we  do  not  bring  the  test  of  the  highest  motive  to  bear 
on  them.  Complications  would  fall  away  when  we  only 
wished  to  know  and  be  like  Christ.  Many  a  tempting 
amusement,  or  occupation,  or  speculation  would  start 
up  in  its  own  shape  when  this  Ithuriel  spear  touched 
it.  How  it  would  save  from  distractions  !  How  strong 
it  would  make  us,  like  a  belt  round  the  waist  bracing 
the  muscles  tighter !  '  This  one  thing  I  do '  is  always  a 
strengthening  principle. 

How  far  is  this  possible?  Not  absolutely,  but  we 
may  approximate  very  closely  and  indefinitely  towards 
it.  For  there  is  the  possibility  of  such  thought  blend- 
ing with  common  motives,  like  a  finer  perfume  in  the 
scentless  air,  or  some  richer  elixir  in  a  cup.  There  is 
the  possibility  of  its  doing  to  other  motives  what  light 
does  to  landscape  when  a  sudden  sunbeam  gleams  across 
the  plain,  and  everything  leaps  into  increased  depth  of 
colour.  Let  us  try  more  and  more  to  rescue  life  from  the 
slavery  of  habit  and  the  distractions  of  all  these  smaller 
forces,  and  to  bring  it  into  the  greatness  and  power  of 
submission  to  the  dominion  of  this  sovereign,  unifying 
motive.  Our  lives  would  thus  be  greatened  and 
strengthened,  even  as  Germany  and  Italy  have  been, 
by  being  delivered  from  a  rabble  of  petty  dukes  and 
brought  under  the  sway  of  one  emperor  or  king.  Let 
us  try  to  approach  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  fusion  of 


V.  9]  THOUGHT,  DEED,  WORD  51 

action  and  contemplation,  and  to  the  blending  with  all 
other  motives  of  this  supreme  one. 

This  command  supplies  us  with  an  easily  applied  and 
effective  test.  Is  there  any  place  where  you  cannot 
take  it,  any  act  which  you  feel  it  would  be  impossible 
to  do  for  His  sake  ?  Avoid  such.  Where  the  safety- 
lamp  burns  blue  and  goes  out,  is  no  place  for  you. 

It  is  a  beautiful  thought  that  Jesus  does  for  us  what 
we  are  thus  commanded  to  do  for  Him.  The  high 
priest  bore  the  names  of  the  tribes  on  his  shoulders 
and  in  his  heart.  '  I  have  graven  thee  on  the  palms  of 
my  hands.'  We  bear  Him  in  our  hands  and  in  our 
hearts.  'I  bear  in  my  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.' 

III.  The  great  deliverance  is  to  be  ever  on  our  lips. 

The  three  regions  here  named  are  the  inward  thought, 
the  outward  practice,  and  the  testimony  of  the  lips. 
Note  that  that  testimony  is  a  consequence  of  thought 
and  practice. 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  deliverance  is  to  make  *  prophets 
of  His  law.'  Such  was  the  divine  intention  as  to  Israel. 
Such  is  God's  purpose  as  to  all  Christians.  The  very 
meaning  of  redemption  is  there.  He  has  •  opened  our 
lips '  that  we  '  should  show  forth  His  praise.'  He  has 
regard  to  'His  own  name.'  He  desires  to  make  us 
vocal,  for  the  same  purpose  for  which  a  man  strings 
a  harp,  to  bring  sweet  music  out  of  it.  Words  of 
testimony  are  a  form  of  love. 

2.  The  other  two  are  incomplete  without  this  vocal 
testimony. 

3.  The  utterance  of  the  lips,  to  be  worth  anything, 
must  rest  on  and  follow  the  other  two.  How  noble, 
then,  and  blessed,  how  strong  and  calm  and  simple 
our  lives  would  be,  if  we  had  this  for  the  one  great 


52  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xiv. 

object  of  our  thoughts,  of  our  practical  endeavour,  of 
our  words,  if  all  our  being  was  sustained,  impelled, 
made  vocal,  by  one  thought,  one  love ! 

O  my  brother,  see  to  it  that  you  give  yourself  to 
Him.  That  great  Light  will  gladden  your  eyes,  will 
guide  your  activity,  and,  like  the  sunrise  striking  Mem- 
non's  voiceless,  stony  lips,  will  bring  music.  Thought 
will  have  one  boundless  home  of  '  many  mansions.* 
Work  will  have  one  law,  one  motive,  its  consecration 
and  strength ;  and  as  in  some  solemn  procession,  all 
our  steps  and  all  our  movements  will  keep  time  to  the 
music  of  our  praise  to  '  Him  who  loved  us.' 


A  PATH  IN  THE  SEA 

•And  the  angel  of  God,  which  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel,  removed  and 
went  behind  them ;  and  the  pillar  of  the  cloud  went  from  before  their  face,  and 
stood  behind  them :  20.  And  it  came  between  the  camp  of  the  Egyptians  and 
the  camp  of  Israel ;  and  it  was  a  cloud  and  darkness  to  them,  but  it  gave  light 
by  night  to  these :  so  that  the  one  came  not  near  the  other  all  the  night.  21.  And 
Moses  stretched  out  his  hand  over  the  sea ;  and  the  Lord  caused  the  sea  to  go 
back  by  a  strong  east  wind  all  that  night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land,  and  the 
waters  were  divided.  22.  And  the  children  of  Israel  went  into  the  midst  of  the 
sea  upon  the  dry  ground :  and  the  waters  were  a  wall  unto  them  on  their  right 
hand,  and  on  their  left.  23.  And  the  Egyptians  pursued,  and  went  in  after  them 
to  the  midst  of  the  sea,  even  all  Pharaoh's  horses,  his  chariots,  and  his  horsemen. 
24.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  in  the  morning  watch  the  Lord  looked  unto  the 
host  of  the  Egyptians  through  the  pillar  of  fire  and  of  the  cloud,  and  troubled 
the  host  of  the  Egyptians,  25.  And  took  oflF  their  chariot-wheels,  that  they  drave 
them  heavily :  so  that  the  Egyptians  said.  Let  us  flee  from  the  face  of  Israel ; 
for  the  Lord  flghteth  for  them  against  the  Egyptians.  26.  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thine  hand  over  the  sea,  that  the  waters  may  come 
again  upon  the  Egyptians,  upon  their  chariots,  and  upon  their  horsemen.  27.  And 
Moses  stretched  forth  his  hand  over  the  sea,  and  the  sea  returned  to  his  strength 
when  the  morning  appeared;  and  the  Egyptians  fled  against  it;  and  the  Lord 
overthrew  the  Egyptians  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.  28.  And  the  waters  returned, 
and  covered  the  chariots,  and  the  horsemen,  and  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh  that 
came  into  the  sea  after  them  :  there  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of  them. 
29.  But  the  children  of  Israel  walked  upon  dry  land  in  the  midst  of  the  sea ;  and 
the  waters  were  a  wall  unto  them  on  their  right  hand,  and  on  their  left.  30.  Thus 
the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians ;  and  Israel  saw 
the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the  sea-shore.  31.  And  Israel  saw  that  great  work 
which  the  Lord  did  upon  the  Egyptians :  and  the  people  feared  the  Lord,  and 
believed  the  Lord,  and  His  servant  Moses.'— Exodus  xiv.  19-31. 

This  passage  begins  at  the  point  where  the  fierce  charge 
of  the  Egyptian  chariots  and  cavalry  on  the  straggling 


vs.  19-31]       A  PATH  IN  THE  SEA  53 

masses  of  the  fugitives  is  inexplicably  arrested.  The 
weary  day's  march,  which  must  have  seemed  as  suicidal 
to  the  Israelites  as  it  did  to  their  pursuers,  had  ended 
in  bringing  them  into  a  position  where,  as  Luther  puts 
it,  they  were  like  a  mouse  in  a  trap  or  a  partridge  in 
a  snare.  The  desert,  the  sea,  the  enemy,  were  their 
alternatives.  And,  as  they  camped,  they  saw  in  the 
distance  the  rapid  advance  of  the  dreaded  force  of 
chariots,  probably  the  vanguard  of  an  army.  No 
wonder  that  they  lost  heart.  Moses  alone  keeps  his 
head  and  his  faith.  He  is  rewarded  with  the  fuller 
promise  of  deliverance,  and  receives  the  power  accom- 
panying the  command,  to  stretch  forth  his  hand,  and 
part  the  sea.  Then  begins  the  marvellous  series  of 
incidents  here  recorded. 

I.  The  first  step  in  the  leisurely  march  of  the  divine 
deliverance  is  the  provision  for  checking  the  Egyptian 
advance  and  securing  the  safe  breaking  up  of  the 
Israelitish  camp.  The  pursuers  had  been  coming  whirl- 
ing along  at  full  speed,  and  would  soon  have  been 
amongst  the  disorderly  mass,  dealing  destruction. 
There  was  no  possibility  of  getting  the  crossing 
effected  unless  they  were  held  at  bay.  When  an 
army  has  to  ford  a  river  in  the  face  of  hostile  forces, 
the  hazardous  operation  is  possible  only  if  a  strong 
rearguard  is  left  on  the  enemy's  side,  to  cover  the 
passage.  This  is  exactly  what  is  done  here.  The  pillar 
of  fire  and  cloud,  the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence, 
passed  from  the  van  to  the  rear.  Its  guidance  was 
not  needed,  when  but  one  path  through  the  sea  was 
possible.  Its  defence  was  needed  when  the  foe  was 
pressing  eagerly  on  the  heels  of  the  host.  His  people's 
needs  determined  then,  as  they  ever  do,  the  form  of 
the  divine  presence  and  help.    Long  after,  the  prophet 


54  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xiv. 

seized  the  great  lesson  of  this  event,  when  he  broke 
into  the  triumphant  anticipation  of  a  yet  future  de- 
liverance,— which  should  repeat  in  fresh  experience 
the  ancient  victory,  'The  Lord  will  go  before  you; 
and  the  God  of  Israel  will  be  your  rearward.'  In  the 
place  where  the  need  is  sorest,  and  in  the  form  most 
required,  there  and  that  will  God  ever  be  to  those 
who  trust  Him. 

We  can  see  here,  too,  a  frequent  characteristic  of 
the  miraculous  element  in  Scripture,  namely,  its  reach- 
ing its  end  not  by  a  leap,  but  by  a  process.  Once 
admit  miracle,  and  it  appears  as  if  adaptation  of  means 
to  ends  was  unnecessary.  It  would  have  been  as  easy 
to  have  transported  the  Israelites  bodily  and  instan- 
taneously to  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  as  to  have  taken 
these  precautions  and  then  cleft  the  ocean,  and  made 
them  march  through  it.  Legendary  miracle  would 
have  preferred  the  former  way.  The  Bible  miracle 
usually  adapts  methods  to  aims,  and  is  content  to  travel 
to  its  goal  step  by  step. 

Nor  can  we  omit  to  notice  the  double  effect  of  the 
one  manifestation  of  the  divine  presence.  The  same 
pillar  was  light  and  darkness.  The  side  which  was 
cloud  was  turned  to  the  pursuers;  that  which  was 
light,  to  Israel.  The  former  were  paralysed,  and 
hindered  from  advancing  a  step,  or  from  seeing  what 
the  latter  were  doing ;  these,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
light  thrown  on  their  strange  path,  and  were  en- 
couraged and  helped  to  plunge  into  the  mysterious 
road,  by  the  ruddy  gleam  which  disclosed  it.  So  every 
revelation  is  either  light  or  darkness  to  men,  according 
to  the  use  they  make  of  it.  The  ark,  which  slew 
Philistines,  and  flung  Dagon  prone  on  his  own  thres- 
hold, brought  blessing  to  the  house  of  Obededom.    The 


vs.  19-31]       A  PATH  IN  THE  SEA  55 

Child  who  was  to  be  'set  for  the  fall,'  was  also  for 
*  the  rising  of  many.'  The  stone  laid  in  Zion  is  •  a  sure 
foundation,'  and  '  a  stone  of  stumbling.'  The  Gospel  is 
the  savour  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death. 
The  same  fire  melts  wax  and  hardens  clay.  The  same 
Christ  is  salvation  and  destruction.  God  is  to  each  of 
us  either  our  joy  or  our  dread. 

II.  The  sudden  march  of  the  Egyptians  having  thus 
been  arrested,  there  is  leisure,  behind  the  shelter  of 
the  fiery  barrier,  to  take  the  next  step  in  the  deliver- 
ance. The  sea  is  not  divided  in  a  moment.  Again, 
we  have  a  process  to  note,  and  that  brought  about  by 
two  things, — Moses'  outstretched  rod,  and  the  strong 
wind  which  blew  all  night.  The  chronology  of  that 
fateful  night  is  difficult  to  adjust  from  our  narrative. 
It  would  appear,  from  verse  20,  that  the  Egyptians 
were  barred  advancing  until  morning ;  and,  from  verse 
21,  that  the  wind  which  ploughed  with  its  strong  plough- 
share a  furrow  through  the  sea,  took  all  night  for  its 
work.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Israelites  must 
have  been  well  across,  and  the  Egyptians  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  passage,  'in  the  morning  watch,'  and  all 
was  over  soon  after  *  the  morning  appeared.'  Probably 
the  wind  continued  all  the  night,  so  as  to  keep  up  the 
pressure  which  dammed  back  the  waters,  but  the  path 
was  passable  some  hours  before  the  gale  abated.  It 
must  have  been  a  broad  way  to  admit  of  some  two 
million  frightened  people  with  wives  and  children  effect- 
ing a  crossing  in  the  short  hours  of  part  of  one  night. 

But  though  God  used  the  wind  as  His  besom  to 
sweep  a  road  clear  for  His  people,  the  effect  produced 
by  ordinary  means  was  extraordinary.  No  wind  that 
ever  blew  would  blow  water  in  two  opposite  directions 
at  once,  as  a  man  might  shovel  snow  to  right  aod  leit. 


56  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xiv. 

and  heap  it  in  mounds  by  the  sides  of  the  path  that 
he  dug.  That  was  what  the  text  tells  us  was  done. 
The  miracle  is  none  the  less  a  miracle  because  God 
employed  physical  agents,  just  as  Christ's  miracles 
were  no  less  miraculous  when  He  anointed  blind  eyes 
with  moistened  clay,  or  sent  men  to  wash  in  Siloam, 
than  when  His  bare  word  raised  the  dead  or  stilled 
the  ocean.  Wind  or  no  wind,  Moses'  rod  or  no  rod, 
the  true  explanation  of  that  broad  path  cleared 
through  the  sea  is — '  the  waters  saw  Thee,  O  God.'  The 
use  of  natural  means  may  have  been  an  aid  to  feeble 
faith,  encouraging  it  to  step  down  on  to  the  untrodden 
and  slippery  road.  The  employment  of  Moses  and  his 
rod  was  to  attest  his  commission  to  act  as  God's  mouth- 
piece. 

III.  Then  comes  the  safe  passage.  It  is  hard  to  im- 
agine the  scene.  The  vivid  impression  made  by  our 
story  is  all  the  more  remarkable  when  we  notice  how 
wanting  in  detail  it  is.  We  do  not  know  the  time  nor 
the  place.  We  have  no  information  about  how  the  fugi- 
tives got  across,  the  breadth  of  the  path,  or  its  length. 
Characteristically  enough,  Jewish  legends  know  all 
about  both,  and  assure  us  that  the  waters  were  parted 
into  twelve  ways,  one  for  each  tribe,  and  that  the 
length  of  the  road  was  three  hundred  miles !  But 
Scripture,  with  characteristic  reticence,  is  silent  about 
all  but  the  fact.  That  is  enough.  We  gather,  from  the 
much  later  and  poetical  picture  of  it  in  Psalm  Ixxvii., 
that  the  passage  was  accomplished  in  the  midst  of 
crashing  thunder  and  flashing  lightnings ;  though  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  these  are  meant  to  be  taken 
as  real  or  ideal.  At  all  events,  we  have  to  think  of 
these  two  millions  of  people — women,  children,  and 
followers  —  plunging   into   the   depths   in   the   night. 


vs.  19-31]       A  PATH  IN  THE  SEA  57 

What  a  scene!  The  awestruck  crowds,  the  howling 
wind,  perhaps  the  thunderstorm,  the  glow  of  the  pillar 
glistening  on  the  wet  and  slimy  way,  the  full  paschal 
moon  shining  on  the  heaped  waters!  How  the  awe 
and  the  hope  must  both  have  increased  with  each 
step  deeper  in  the  abyss,  and  nearer  to  safety !  The 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  takes  this  as  an  instance  of 
'  faith '  on  the  part  of  the  Israelites ;  and  truly  we  can 
feel  that  it  must  have  taken  some  trust  in  God's 
protecting  hand  to  venture  on  such  a  road,  where, 
at  any  moment,  the  walls  might  collapse  and  drown 
them  all.  They  were  driven  to  venture  by  their  fear 
of  Pharaoh ;  but  faith,  as  well  as  fear,  wrought  in 
them.  Our  faith,  too,  is  often  called  upon  to  venture 
upon  perilous  paths.  We  may  trust  Him  to  hold  back 
the  watery  walls  from  falling.  The  picture  ot  the 
crossing  carries  eternal  truth  for  us  all.  The  way  of 
safety  does  not  open  till  we  are  hemmed  in,  and 
Pharaoh's  chariots  are  almost  come  up.  It  often  leads 
into  the  very  thick  of  what  we  deem  perils.  It  often 
has  to  be  ventured  on  in  the  dark,  and  with  the  wind 
in  our  faces.  But  if  we  tread  it  in  faith,  the  fluid  will 
be  made  solid,  and  the  pathless  passable,  or  any  other 
apparent  impossibility  be  realised,  before  our  confi- 
dence shall  be  put  to  shame,  or  one  real  evil  reach  us. 

IV.  The  next  stage  is  the  hot  pursuit  and  the  panic 
of  the  Egyptians.  The  narrative  does  not  mark  the 
point  at  which  the  pillar  lifted  and  disclosed  the  escape 
of  the  prey.  It  must  have  been  in  the  night.  The 
baffled  pursuers  dash  after  them,  either  not  seeing, 
or  too  excited  and  furious  to  heed  where  they  were 
going.  The  rough  sea  bottom  was  no  place  for  chariots, 
and  they  would  be  hopelessly  distanced  by  the  fugitives 
on  foot.    How  long  they  stumbled  and  weltered  we 


58  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xiv. 

are  not  told,  but  *  in  the  morning  watch,'  that  is,  while 
it  was  yet  dark,  some  awful  movement  in  the  fiery 
pillar  awed  even  their  anger  into  stillness,  and  drove 
home  the  conviction  that  they  were  fighting  against 
God.  There  is  something  very  terrible  in  the  vagueness, 
if  we  may  call  it  so,  of  that  phrase  *  the  Lord  looked  .  . . 
through  the  pillar.'  It  curdles  the  blood  as  no  minute- 
ness of  narrative  would  do.  And  what  a  thought  that 
His  look  should  be  a  trouble !  '  The  steady  whole  of  the 
judge's  face'  is  awful,  and  some  creeping  terror  laid 
hold  on  that  host  of  mad  pursuers  floundering  in  the 
dark,  as  that  more  than  natural  light  flared  on  their 
path.  The  panic  to  which  all  bodies  of  soldiers  in 
strange  circumstances  are  exposed,  was  increased  by 
the  growing  difficulty  of  advance,  as  the  chariot  wheels 
became  clogged  or  the  ground  more  of  quicksand.  At 
last  it  culminates  in  a  shout  of  *  Sauve  qui  peut  I  * 
We  may  learn  how  close  together  lie  daring  rebellion 
against  God  and  abject  terror  of  Him;  and  how  in  a 
moment,  a  glance  of  His  face,  a  turn  of  His  hand, 
bring  the  wildest  blasphemer  to  cower  in  fear.  We 
may  learn,  too,  to  keep  clear  of  courses  which  cannot 
be  followed  a  moment  longer,  if  once  a  thought  that 
God  sees  us  comes  in.  And  we  may  learn  the  miser- 
able result  of  all  departure  from  Him,  in  making  what 
ought  to  be  our  peace  and  blessing,  our  misery  and 
terror,  and  turning  the  brightness  of  His  face  into  a 
consuming  fire. 

V.  Then  comes,  at  last,  the  awful  act  of  destruction, 
of  which  a  man  is  the  agent  and  an  army  the  victim. 
We  must  suppose  the  Israelites  all  safe  on  the  Arabian 
coast,  when  the  level  sunlight  streams  from  the  east 
on  the  wild  hurry  of  the  fleeing  crowd  making  for  the 
Egyptian  shore.     What  a  solemn  sight  that  young 


vs.  19-31]       A  PATH  IN  THE  SEA  59 

morning  looked  on !  The  wind  had  dropped,  the  rod  is 
stretched  out,  the  sea  returns  to  its  strength ;  and  after 
a  few  moments'  despairing  struggle  all  is  over,  and 
the  sun,  as  it  climbs,  looks  down  upon  the  unbroken 
stretch  of  quiet  sea,  bearing  no  trace  of  the  awful 
work  which  it  had  done,  or  of  the  quenched  hatred 
and  fury  which  slept  beneath. 

We  can  understand  the  stern  joy  which  throbs  so 
vehemently  in  every  pulse  of  that  great  song,  the  first 
blossom  of  Hebrew  poetry,  which  the  ransomed  people 
sang  that  day.  We  can  sympathise  with  the  many 
echoes  in  psalm  and  prophecy,  which  repeated  the 
lessons  of  faith  and  gratitude.  But  some  will  be  ready 
to  ask,  Was  that  triumphant  song  anything  more  than 
narrow  national  feeling,  and  has  Christianity  not 
taught  us  another  and  tenderer  thought  of  God  than 
that  which  this  lesson  carries?  We  may  ask  in  re- 
turn. Was  it  divine  providence  that  swept  the  Spanish 
Armada  from  the  sea,  fulfilling,  as  the  medal  struck 
to  commemorate  it  bore,  the  very  words  of  Moses' 
song,  •  Thou  didst  blow  with  Thy  wind,  the  sea  covered 
them '  ?  Was  it  God  who  overwhelmed  Napoleon's 
army  in  the  Russian  snows?  Were  these,  and  many 
like  acts  in  the  world's  history,  causes  for  thankfulness 
to  God?  Is  it  not  true  that,  as  has  been  well  said, 
'The  history  of  the  world  is  the  judgment  of  the 
world'?  And  does  Christianity  forbid  us  to  rejoice 
when  some  mighty  and  ancient  system  of  wrong  and 
oppression,  with  its  tools  and  accomplices,  is  cleared 
from  off  the  face  of  the  earth?  'When  the  wicked 
perish,  there  is  shouting.'  Let  us  not  forget  that  the 
love  and  gentleness  of  the  Gospel  are  accompanied  by 
the  revelation  of  divine  judgment  and  righteous  re- 
tribution.   This  very  incident  has  for  its  last  echo  in 


60  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xiv. 

Scripture  that  wonderful  scene  in  the  Apocalypse, 
where,  in  the  pause  before  the  seven  angels  bearing 
the  seven  plagues  go  forth,  the  seer  beholds  a  company 
of  choristers,  like  those  who  on  that  morning  stood 
on  the  Red  Sea  shore,  standing  on  the  bank  of  the 
'  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire,' — which  symbolises  the 
clear  and  crystalline  depth  of  the  stable  divine  judg- 
ments, shot  with  fiery  retribution, — and  lifting  up  by 
anticipation  a  song  of  thanksgiving  for  the  judgments 
about  to  be  wrought.  That  song  is  expressly  called 
*the  song  of  Moses'  and  'of  the  Lamb,'  in  token  of 
the  essential  unity  of  the  two  dispensations,  and  especi- 
ally of  the  harmony  of  both  in  their  view  of  the  divine 
judgments.  Its  ringing  praises  are  modelled  on  the 
ancient  lyric.  It,  too,  triumphs  in  God's  judgments, 
regards  them  as  means  of  making  known  His  name, 
as  done  not  for  destruction,  but  that  His  character 
may  be  known  and  honoured  by  men,  to  whom  it  is 
life  and  peace  to  know  and  love  Him  for  what  He  is. 

That  final  victory  over  '  the  beast,'  whether  he  be  a 
person  or  a  tendency,  is  to  reproduce  in  higher  fashion 
that  old  conquest  by  the  Red  Sea.  There  is  hope 
for  the  world  that  its  oppressors  shall  not  always 
tyrannise ;  there  is  hope  for  each  soul  that,  if  we 
take  Christ  for  our  deliverer  and  our  guide.  He  will 
break  the  chains  from  off  our  wrists,  and  bring  us  at 
last  to  the  eternal  shore,  where  we  may  stand,  like 
the  ransomed  people,  and,  as  the  unsetting  morning 
dawns,  see  its  beams  touching  with  golden  light  the 
calm  ocean,  beneath  which  our  oppressors  lie  buried 
for  ever,  and  lift  up  glad  thanksgivings  to  Him  who 
has  'led  us  through  fire  and  through  water,  and 
brought  us  out  into  a  wealthy  place.' 


'MY  STRENGTH  AND  SONG* 

'The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song,  and  He  is  become  my  salvation.  .  . .' 

Exodus  xv.  2. 

These  words  occur  three  times  in  the  Bible :  here,  in 
Isaiah  xii.  2,  and  in  Psalm  exviii.  14. 

I.  The  lessons  from  the  various  instances  of  their 
occurrence.  The  first  and  second  teach  that  the  Mosaic 
deliverance  is  a  picture-prophecy  of  the  redemption  in 
Christ.  The  third  (Psalm  exviii.  14),  long  after,  and 
the  utterance  of  some  private  person,  teaches  that  each 
age  and  each  soul  has  the  same  mighty  Hand  working 
for  it.     *  As  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  seen.' 

II.  The  lessons  from  the  words  themselves. 

(a)  True  faith  appropriates  God's  universal  mercy  as 
a  personal  possession.  '  My  Lord  and  my  God  ! '  '  He 
loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  ?ne.' 

(6)  Each  single  act  of  mercy  should  reveal  God  more 
clearly  as  '  My  strength.'  The '  and '  in  the  second  clause 
is  substantially  equivalent  to '  for.'  It  assigns  the  reason 
for  the  assurance  expressed  in  the  first.  Because  of 
the  experienced  deliverance  and  God's  manifestation 
of  Himself  in  it  as  the  author  of  '  salvation,'  my  faith 
wins  happy  increase  of  confidence  that  He  'is  the 
strength  of  my  heart.'  Blessed  they  who  bring  that 
treasure  out  of  all  the  sorrows  of  life  ! 

(c)  The  end  of  His  deliverances  is  '  praise.'  *  He  is  my 
song.'  This  is  true  for  earth  and  for  heaven.  The 
*  Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.' 

THE  SHEPHERD  AND  THE  FOLD 

•.  .  .  Thou  hast  guided  them  in  Thy  strength  unto  Thy  holy  habitation.' 

Exodus  xv.  IS. 

What  a  grand  triumphal  ode !    The  picture  of  Moses 
and  the  children  of  Israel  singing,  and  Miriam  and  the 

61 


6^  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xv. 

women  answering:  a  gush  of  national  pride  and  of 
worship  !  We  belong  to  a  better  time,  but  still  we  can 
feel  its  grandeur.  The  deliverance  has  made  the 
singer  look  forward  to  the  end,  and  his  confidence  in 
the  issue  is  confirmed. 

I.  The  guiding  God:  or  the  picture  of  the  leading. 
The  original  is  '  lead  gently.*  Cf.  Isaiah  xl.  11,  Psalm 
xxiii.  2.  The  emblem  of  a  flock  underlies  the  word. 
There  is  not  only  guidance,  but  gentle  guidance.  The 
guidance  was  gentle,  though  accompanied  with  so 
tremendous  and  heart-curdling  a  judgment.  The 
drowned  Egyptians  were  strange  examples  of  gentle 
leading.  But  God's  redemptive  acts  are  like  the  guiding 
pillar  of  fire,  in  that  they  have  a  side  that  reveals 
wrath  and  evokes  terror,  and  a  side  that  radiates 
lambent  love  and  kindles  happy  trust. 

•  In  Thy  strength.'  Cf.  Isaiah  xl.  10,  •  with  strong 
hand.'  '  He  shall  gently  lead.'  Note  the  combination 
with  gentleness.  That  divine  strength  is  the  only 
power  which  is  able  to  guide.  We  are  so  weak  that  it 
takes  all  His  might  to  hold  us  up.  It  is  His  strength,  not 
ours.    '  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  (thy)  weakness.' 

'  To  the  resting-place  of  Thy  holiness.'  The  word  is 
used  for  pasture,  or  resting-places  for  cattle.  Here  it 
meant  Canaan  ;  for  us  it  means  Heaven — '  the  green 
pastures '  of  real  participation  in  His  holiness. 

II.  The  triumphant  confidence  as  to  the  future  based 
upon  the  deliverance  of  the  past.  *  Hast,'  a  past  tense. 
It  is  as  good  as  done.  The  believing  use  of  God's  great 
past,  and  initial  mercy,  to  make  us  sure  of  His  future. 

(a)  In  that  He  will  certainly  accomplish  it. 

(6)  In  that  even  now  there  is  a  foretaste — rest  in  toil. 
He  guides  to  the  *  waters  of  resting.*  A  rest  now  (Heb. 
iv.  3) ;  a  rest  *  that  remaineth  '  (Heb.  iv.  3,  9). 

III.  The  warning  against  confidence  in  self.    These 


V.13]  THE  ULTIMATE  HOPE  68 

people  who  sang  thus  perished  in  the  wilderness !  They 
let  go  hold  of  God's  hand,  so  they  *  sank  like  lead.'  So 
He  will  fulfil  begun  work  (Philippians  i.  6).  Let  us 
cleave  to  Him.  In  Hebrews  iii.  and  iv.  lessons  are 
drawn  from  the  Israelites  not  *  entering  in.*  See  also 
Psalm  xcv. 

THE  ULTIMATE  HOPE 

'  ThoQ  Shalt  bring  them  in  and  plant  them  in  the  mountain  of  Thine  inherit* 
ance.  .  .  .'—Exodus  xv.  17. 

I.  The  lesson  taught  by  each  present  deliverance  and 
kindness  is  that  we  shall  be  brought  to  His  rest  at  last. 

(a)  Daily  mercies  are  a  pledge  and  a  pattern  of  His 
continuous  acts.  The  confidence  that  we  shall  be  kept  is 
based  upon  no  hard  doctrine  of  final  perseverance,  but 
on  the  assurance  that  God  is  always  the  same,  like  the 
sunshine  which  has  poured  out  for  all  these  millenniums 
and  still  rushes  on  with  the  same  force.     Consider — 

The  inexhaustibleness  of  the  divine  resources. 

The  steadfastness  of  the  divine  purposes. 

The  long-suffering  of  the  divine  patience. 

(6)  Thus  daily  mercies  should  lead  on  our  thoughts  to 
heavenly  things.  They  should  not  prison  us  in  their  own 
sweetness.  We  should  see  the  great  Future  shining 
through  them  as  a  transparent,  not  an  opaque  medium. 

(c)  That  ultimate  future  should  be  the  great  object  of 
our  hope.  Surely  it  is  chiefly  in  order  that  we  may 
have  the  light  of  that  great  to-morrow  brightening 
and  magnifying  our  dusty  to-days,  that  we  are  endowed 
with  the  faculty  of  looking  forward  and  '  calling  things 
that  are  not  as  though  they  were.'  So  we  should 
engage  and  enlarge  our  minds  with  it. 

II.  The  form  which  that  ultimate  future  assumes. 

The  Israelites  thought  of  Canaan,  and  in  particular 
of  *  Zion,'  its  centre-point. 


64  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xv. 

(a)  Perpetual  rest.  •  Bring  in  and  plant ' — a  contrast 
to  the  desert  nomad  life. 

(b)  Perpetual  safety.  'The  sanctuary  which  Thy 
hands  have  established,'  i.e.  made  firm. 

(c)  Perpetual  dwelling  in  God.  '  Thy  dwelling,' '  Thy 
mountain,'  *  Thy  holy  habitation '  (ver.  13),  rather  than 
'  our  land.'  For  Israel  their  communion  with  Jehovah 
was  perfected  on  Zion  by  the  Temple  and  the  sacrifices, 
including  the  revelation  of  (priestly)  national  service. 

(d)  Perpetual  purity.  'Thy  sanctuary.'  •Without' 
holiness  '  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.' 


MARAH 

'  And  when  they  came  to  Marah,  they  could  not  drink  of  the  waters  of  Marah, 
for  they  were  bitter :  therefore  the  name  of  it  was  called  Marah.  24.  And  the 
people  murmured  against  Moses,  saying.  What  shall  we  drink?  25.  And  he  cried 
unto  the  Lord ;  and  the  Lord  showed  him  a  tree,  which  when  he  had  cast  into  the 
waters,  the  waters  were  made  sweet.  .  .  .'—Exodus  xv.  23-25. 

I.  The  time  of  reaching  Marah — just  after  the  Red  Sea. 
The  Israelites  were  encamped  for  a  few  days  on  the 
shore  to  shake  themselves  together,  and  then  at  this, 
their  very  first  station,  they  began  to  experience  the 
privations  which  were  to  be  their  lot  for  forty  years. 
Their  course  was  like  that  of  a  ship  that  is  in  the  stormy 
Channel  as  soon  as  it  leaves  the  shelter  of  the  pier  at 
Dover,  not  like  that  of  one  that  glides  down  the  Thames 
for  miles. 

After  great  moments  and  high  triumphs  in  life 
comes  Marah. 

Marah  was  jii-^t  before  Elim — the  alternation,  how 
blessed !  The  shade  of  palms  and  cool  water  of  the  wells, 
one  for  each  tribe  and  one  for  each  '  elder.'  So  we  have 
alternations  in  life  and  experience. 

II.  The  wrong  and  the  right  ways  of  taking  the 
bitter  experience.    The  people  grumbled :  Moses  cried 


vs.  23-25]       THE  BREAD  OF  GOD  65 

to  the  Lord.  The  quick  forgetfulness  of  deliverances. 
The  true  use  of  speech  is  not  complaint,  but  prayer. 

III.  The  power  that  changes  bitter  to  sweet.  The 
manner  of  the  miracle  is  singular.  God  hides  Himself 
behind  Moses,  and  His  miraculous  power  behind  the 
material  agent.  Perhaps  the  manner  of  the  miracle 
was  intended  to  suggest  a  parallel  with  the  first  plague. 
There  the  rod  made  the  Nile  water  undrinkable. 
There  is  a  characteristic  economy  in  the  miraculous, 
and  outward  things  are  used,  as  Christ  used  the  pool 
and  the  saliva  and  the  touch,  to  help  the  weak  faith 
of  the  deaf  and  dumb  man. 

What  changes  bitter  to  sweet  for  us? — the  Cross, 
the  remembrance  of  Christ's  death.  '  Consider  Him 
that  endured.'  The  Cross  is  the  true  tree  which,  when 
'  cast  into  the  waters,  the  waters  were  made  sweet.' 

Recognition  of  and  yielding  to  God's  will :  that  is  the 
one  thing  which  for  us  changes  all.  The  one  secret  of 
peace  and  of  getting  sweetness  out  of  bitterness  is 
loving  acceptance  of  the  will  of  God. 

Discernment  of  purpose  in  God's  '  bitter '  dealings — 
•  for  our  profit.'  The  dry  rod  *  budded.'  The  Prophet's 
roll  was  first  bitter,  then  sweet.  Affliction  'after- 
wards yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit.* 

THE  BREAD  OF  GOD 

'  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Moses,  Behold,  I  will  rain  bread  from  heaven  for  yon ; 
and  the  people  shall  go  out  and  gather  a  certain  rate  every  day,  that  I  may  prove 
them,  whether  they  wUl  walk  in  My  law,  or  no.  5.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  on  the  sixth  day  they  shall  prepare  that  which  they  bring  in  ;  and  it  shall  be 
twice  as  much  as  they  gather  daily.  6.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  said  unto  all  the 
children  of  Israel,  At  even,  then  ye  shall  know  that  the  Lord  hath  brought  you 
out  from  the  land  of  Egypt :  7.  And  in  the  morning,  then  ye  shall  see  the  glory 
of  the  Lord ;  for  that  He  heareth  your  murmurings  against  the  Lord :  and  what 
are  we,  that  ye  murmur  against  us?  8.  And  Moses  said.  This  shall  be,  when  the 
Lord  shall  give  you  in  the  evening  flesh  to  eat,  and  in  the  morning  bread  to  the 
full ;  for  that  the  Lord  heareth  your  murmurings  which  ye  murmur  against  Him : 
and  what  are  wet  your  murmurings  are  not  against  us,  but  against  the  Lord. 
9.  And  Moses  spake  unto  Aaron,  Say  unto  all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of 

B 


66  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.xvi. 

Israel,  Come  near  before  the  Lord  :  for  He  hath  heard  your  mnrmurings.  10.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  as  Aaron  spake  unto  the  whole  congregation  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  that  they  looked  toward  the  wilderness,  and,  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
appeared  in  the  cloud.  11.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  12.  I  have 
heard  the  murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel:  speak  unto  them,  saying.  At 
even  ye  shall  eat  flesh,  and  in  the  morning  ye  shall  be  filled  with  bread ;  and  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.'— Exodus  xvL  4-12, 

Unbelief  has  a  short  memory.  The  Red  Sea  is  for- 
gotten in  a  month.  The  Israelites  could  strike  their 
timbrels  and  sing  their  lyric  of  praise,  but  they  could 
not  believe  that  to-day's  hunger  could  be  satisfied. 
Discontent  has  a  slippery  memory.  They  wish  to  get 
back  to  the  flesh-pots,  of  which  the  savour  is  in  their 
nostrils,  and  they  have  forgotten  the  bitter  sauce  of 
affliction.  When  they  were  in  Egypt,  they  shrieked 
about  their  oppression,  and  were  ready  to  give  up  any- 
thing for  liberty;  when  they  have  got  it,  they  are 
ready  to  put  their  necks  in  the  yoke  again,  if  only  they 
can  have  their  stomachs  filled.  Men  do  not  know  how 
happy  they  are  till  they  cease  to  be  so.  Our  present 
miseries  and  our  past  blessings  are  the  themes  on 
which  unbelief  harps.  Let  him  that  is  without  similar 
sin  cast  the  first  stone  at  these  grumbling  Israelites. 
Without  following  closely  the  text  of  the  narrative,  we 
may  throw  together  the  lessons  of  the  manna. 

I.  Observe  God's  purpose  in  the  gift,  as  distinctly 
expressed  in  the  promise  of  it. 

•  That  I  may  prove  them,  whether  they  will  walk  in 
My  law  or  no.'  How  did  the  manna  become  a  test  of 
this  ?  By  means  of  the  law  prescribed  for  gathering  it. 
There  was  to  be  a  given  quantity  daily,  and  twice  as 
much  on  the  sixth  day.  If  a  man  trusted  God  for  to- 
morrow, he  would  be  content  to  stop  collecting  when 
he  had  filled  his  omer,  tempting  as  the  easily  gathered 
abundance  would  be.  Greed  and  unbelief  would  mas- 
querade then  as  now,  under  the  guise  of  prudent  fore- 
sight.   The  old  Egyptian  parallels  to  '  make  hay  while 


vs.  4-12]  THE  BREAD  OF  GOD  67 

the  sun  shines,'  and  suchlike  wise  sayings  of  the  philo- 
sophy of  distrust,  would  be  solemnly  spoken,  and 
listened  to  as  pearls  of  wisdom.  When  experience  had 
taught  that,  however  much  a  man  gathered,  he  had  no 
more  than  his  omer  full,  after  all, — and  is  not  that  true 
yet? — then  the  next  temptation  would  be  to  practise 
economy,  and  have  something  over  for  to-morrow. 
Only  he  who  absolutely  trusted  God  to  provide  for 
him  would  eat  up  his  portion,  and  lie  down  at  night 
with  a  quiet  heart,  knowing  that  He  who  had  fed  him 
would  feed.  When  experience  had  taught  that  what 
was  saved  rotted,  then  laziness  would  come  in  and  say, 
*  What  is  the  use  of  gathering  twice  as  much  on  the 
sixth  day  ?  Don't  we  know  that  it  will  not  keep  ? '  So 
the  whole  of  the  gift  was  a  continual  training  of,  and 
therefore  a  continual  test  for,  faith.  God  willed  to  let 
His  gifts  come  in  this  hand-to-mouth  fashion,  though 
He  could  have  provided  at  once  what  would  have 
obviously  lasted  them  all  their  wilderness  life,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  habituated  to  cling  to  Him,  and  that 
their  daily  bread  might  be  doubly  for  their  nourish- 
ment, feeding  their  bodies  and  strengthening  that 
faith  which,  to  them  as  to  us,  is  the  condition  of  all 
blessedness.  God  lets  our  blessings,  too,  trickle  to  us 
drop  by  drop,  instead  of  pouring  them  in  a  flood  all  at 
once  upon  us,  for  the  same  reason.  He  does  so,  not 
because  of  any  good  to  Him  from  our  faith,  except  that 
the  Infinite  love  loves  infinitely  to  be  loved;  but  for 
our  sakes,  that  we  may  taste  the  peace  and  strength  of 
continual  dependence,  and  the  joy  of  continual  receiv- 
ing. He  could  give  us  the  principal  down;  but  He 
prefers  to  pay  us  the  interest,  as  we  need  it. 

Christianity  does  not  absolutely  forbid  laying    up 
money  or  other  resources  for  future  wants.    But  the 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xvi. 

love  of  accumulating,  which  is  so  strong  in  many  pro- 
fessing Christians,  and  the  habit  of  amassing  beyond 
all  reasonable  future  wants,  is  surely  scarcely  permitted 
to  those  who  profess  to  believe  that  incarnate  wisdom 
forbade  taking  anxious  care  for  the  morrow,  and  sent 
its  disciples  to  lilies  and  birds  to  learn  the  happy  im- 
munities of  faith.  We  too  get  our  daily  mercies  to 
prove  us.  The  letter  of  the  law  for  the  manna  is  not 
applicable  to  us  who  gain  our  bread  by  God's  blessing 
on  our  labour.  But  the  spirit  is,  and  the  members  of 
great  commercial  nations  have  surely  little  need  to  be 
reminded  that  still  the  portion  put  away  is  apt  to  breed 
worms.  How  often  it  vanishes,  or,  if  it  lasts,  tortures 
its  owner,  who  has  more  trouble  keeping  it  than  he 
had  in  getting  it ;  or  fatally  corrupts  his  own  character, 
or  ruins  his  children  !  All  God's  gifts  are  tests,  which 
— thanks  be  to  Him — is  the  same  as  to  say  that  they 
are  means  of  increasing  faith,  and  so  adding  to  joy. 

II.  The  manna  was  further  a  disclosure  of  the  depth 
of  patient  long-suffering  in  God. 

Very  strikingly  the  '  murmurings '  of  the  children  of 
Israel  are  four  times  referred  to  in  this  context,  and 
on  each  occasion  are  stated  as  the  reason  for  the  gift 
of  the  manna.  It  was  God's  answer  to  the  peevish 
complaints  of  greedy  appetites.  When  they  were 
summoned  to  come  near  to  the  Lord,  with  the  ominous 
warning  that  '  He  hath  heard  your  murmurings,'  no 
doubt  many  a  heart  began  to  quake ;  and  when  the 
Glory  flashed  from  the  Shechinah  cloud,  it  would  burn 
lurid  to  their  trembling  consciences.  But  the  message 
which  comes  from  it  is  sweet  in  its  gentleness,  as  it 
promises  the  manna  because  they  have  murmured,  and 
in  order  that  they  may  know  the  Lord.  A  mother 
soothes  her  crying  infant  by  feeding  it  from  her  own 


vs.  4-12]         THE  BREAD  OF  GOD  69 

bosom.  God  does  not  take  the  rod  to  His  whimpering 
children,  but  rather  tries  to  win  them  by  patience,  and 
to  shame  their  unbelief  by  His  swift  and  over-abundant 
answers  to  their  complaints.  When  He  must,  He 
punishes ;  but  when  He  can.  He  complies.  Faith  is  the 
condition  of  Dur  receiving  His  highest  gifts ;  but  even 
unbelief  touches  His  heart  with  pity,  and  what  He  can 
give  to  it,  He  does,  if  it  may  be  melted  into  trust.  The 
farther  men  stray  from  Him,  the  more  tender  and 
penetrating  His  recalling  voice.  We  multiply  trans- 
gressions. He  multiplies  mercies. 

III.  The  manna  was  a  revelation  in  miraculous  and 
transient  form  of  an  eternal  truth. 

The  God  who  sent  it  sends  daily  bread.  The  words 
which  Christ  quoted  in  His  wilderness  hunger  are  the 
explanation  of  its  meaning  as  a  witness  to  this  truth : 
•  Man  doth  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.'  To  a 
Christian,  the  divine  power  is  present  and  operative 
in  all  natural  processes  as  really  as  in  those  which  we 
call  miraculous.  God  is  separable  from  the  universe, 
but  the  universe  is  not  separable  from  God.  If  it  were 
separated,  it  would  cease.  So  far  as  the  reality  of  the 
divine  operation  is  concerned,  it  matters  not  whether 
He  works  in  the  established  fashion,  through  material 
things,  or  whether  His  will  acts  directly.  The  chain 
which  binds  a  phenomenon  to  the  divine  will  may  be 
long  or  short ;  the  intervening  links  may  be  many,  or 
they  may  be  abolished,  and  the  divine  cause  and  the 
visible  effect  may  touch  without  anything  between. 
But  in  either  case  the  power  is  of  God.  Bread  made 
out  of  flour  grown  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  and 
fashioned  by  the  baker,  and  bought  by  the  fruits  of  my 
industry,  is  as  truly  the  gift  of  God  as  was  the  manna. 


70  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xvi. 

For  once,  He  showed  these  men  His  hand  at  work,  that 
we  all  might  know  that  it  was  at  work,  when  hidden. 
The  lesson  of  the  *  angel's  food '  eaten  in  the  wilderness 
is  that  men  are  fed  by  the  power  of  God's  expressed 
and  active  will, — for  that  is  the  meaning  of  '  the  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God,' — in  whatever 
fashion  they  get  their  food.  The  gift  of  it  is  from  Him ; 
its  power  to  nourish  is  from  Him.  It  is  as  true  to-day 
as  ever  it  was :  '  Thou  openest  Thine  hand,  and  satisfiest 
the  desire  of  every  living  thing.'  The  manna  ceased 
when  the  people  came  near  cornfields  and  settled 
homes.  Miracles  end  when  means  are  possible.  But 
the  God  of  the  miracle  is  the  God  of  the  means. 

Commentators  make  much  of  what  is  supposed  to  be 
a  natural  substratum  for  the  manna,  in  a  certain 
vegetable  product,  found  in  small  quantities  in  parts 
of  the  Arabian  peninsula.  No  doubt,  we  are  to  recog- 
nise in  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  dividing  of  the 
Red  Sea,  the  extraordinary  action  of  ordinary  causes ; 
and  there  is  no  objection  in  principle  to  doing  so  here. 
But  that  an  exudation  from  the  bark  of  a  shrub,  which 
has  no  nutritive  properties  at  all,  is  found  only  in  one  or 
two  places  in  Arabia,  and  that  only  at  certain  seasons 
and  in  infinitesimal  quantity,  seems  a  singularly  thin 
*  substratum '  on  which  to  build  up  the  feeding  of  two 
millions  of  people,  more  or  less  exclusively  and  con- 
tinuously for  forty  years,  by  means  of  a  substance 
which  has  nothing  to  do  with  tamarisk-trees,  and  is 
like  the  natural  product  in  nothing  but  sweetness  and 
name.  Whether  we  admit  connection  between  the 
two,  or  not,  the  miraculous  character  of  the  manna  of 
the  Israelites  is  unaffected.  It  was  miraculous  in  its 
origin — •  rained  from  heaven,'  in  its  quantity,  in  its 
observance  of  times  and  seasons,  in  its  putrefaction 


vs.  4-12]         THE  BREAD  OF  GOD  71 

and  preservation, — as  rotting  when  kept  for  greed,  and 
remaining  sweet  when  preserved  for  the  Sabbath.  It 
came  straight  from  the  creative  will  of  God,  and 
whether  its  name  means  '  What  is  it  ? '  or  *  It  is  a  gift,' 
the  designation  is  equally  true  and  appropriate,  point- 
ing, in  the  one  case,  to  the  mystery  of  its  nature;  in 
the  other,  to  the  love  of  the  Giver,  and  in  both  referring 
it  directly  to  the  hand  of  God. 

IV.  The  manna  was  typical  of  Christ. 

Our  Lord  Himself  has  laid  His  hand  upon  it,  and 
claimed  it  as  a  faint  foreshadowing  of  what  He  is.  The 
Jews,  not  satisfied  with  the  miracle  of  the  loaves, 
demand  from  Him  a  greater  sign,  as  the  condition  of 
what  they  are  pleased  to  call  'belief — which  is  nothing 
but  accepting  the  testimony  of  sense.  They  quote 
Moses  as  giving  the  manna,  and  imply  that  Messiah  is 
expected  to  repeat  the  miracle.  Christ  accepts  the 
challenge,  and  goes  on  to  claim  that  He  not  only  gives, 
but  Himself  is,  for  all  men's  souls,  all  and  more  than  all 
which  the  manna  had  been  to  the  bodies  of  that  dead 
generation.  Like  it,  He  came — but  in  how  much  more 
profound  a  sense ! — from  heaven.  Like  it.  He  was  food. 
But  unlike  it,  He  could  still  for  ever  the  craving  of  the 
else  famishing  soul;  unlike  it,  He  not  only  nourished 
a  bodily  life  already  possessed,  but  communicated  a 
spiritual  life  which  never  dies ;  and,  unlike  it,  He  was 
meant  to  be  the  food  of  the  whole  world.  His  teaching 
passed  beyond  the  symbolism  of  the  manna,  when  He 
not  only  declared  Himself  to  be  the  'true  bread  from 
heaven  which  gives  life  to  the  world,'  but  opened  a 
glimpse  into  the  solemn  mystery  of  His  atoning  death 
by  the  startling  and  apparently  repulsive  paradox  that 
'His  flesh  was  food  indeed  and  His  blood  drink  indeed.* 
The  manna  does  not  typically  teach  Christ's  atonement, 


72  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.  xvii. 

but  it  does  set  Him  forth  as  the  true  sustenance  and 
life-giver,  sweet  as  honey  to  the  soul,  sent  from  heaven 
for  us  each,  but  needing  to  be  made  ours  by  the  act  of 
our  faith.  An  Israelite  would  have  starved,  though 
the  manna  lay  all  round  the  camp,  if  he  did  not  go  forth 
and  secure  his  portion ;  and  he  might  no  less  have 
starved,  if  he  did  not  eat  what  Heaven  had  sent.  *  Crede 
et  manducasti,'  '  Believe,  and  thou  hast  eaten,' — as  St. 
Augustine  says.  The  personal  appropriating  act  of 
faith  is  essential  to  our  having  Christ  for  the  food  of 
our  souls.  The  bread  that  nourishes  our  bodies  is 
assimilated  to  their  substance,  and  so  becomes  susten- 
ance. This  bread  of  God,  entering  into  our  souls  by  faith, 
transforms  them  into  its  substance,  and  so  gives  and 
feeds  an  immortal  life.  The  manna  was  for  a  genera- 
tion ;  this  bread  is '  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and 
for  ever.'  That  was  for  a  handful  of  men ;  this  is  for 
the  world.  Nor  is  the  prophetic  value  of  the  manna 
exhausted  when  we  recognise  its  witness  to  Christ. 
The  food  of  the  wilderness  is  the  food  of  the  city.  The 
bread  that  is  laid  on  the  table,  '  spread  in  the  presence 
of  the  enemy,'  is  the  bread  that  makes  the  feast  in  the 
king's  palace.  The  Christ  who  feeds  the  pilgrim 
soldiers  is  the  Christ  on  whom  the  conquerors  banquet. 
•To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the 
hidden  manna.' 


JEHOVAH  NISSI 

'And  Moses  built  an  altar,  and  called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah  Nissl  [that  la, 
the  Lord  is  my  Banner].'— Exodus  xvii.  15. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  that  picturesque  incident  of 
the  conflict  between  Israel  and  Amalek,  which  ended 


V.  15]  JEHOVAH  NISSI  78 

in  victory  and  the  erection  of  this  memorial  trophy. 
Moses,  as  you  remember,  went  up  on  the  mount  whilst 
Joshua  and  the  men  of  war  fought  in  the  plain.  But  I 
question  whether  we  usually  attach  the  right  mean- 
ing to  the  symbolism  of  this  event.  We  ordinarily,  I 
suppose,  think  of  Moses  as  interceding  on  the  mountain 
with  God.  But  there  is  no  word  about  prayer  in  the 
story,  and  the  attitude  of  Moses  is  contrary  to  the  idea 
that  his  occupation  was  intercession.  He  sat  there, 
with  the  rod  of  God  in  his  hand,  and  the  rod  of  God 
was  the  symbol  and  the  vehicle  of  divine  power.  When 
he  lifted  the  rod  Amalek  fled  before  Israel ;  when  the 
rod  dropped  Israel  fled  before  Amalek.  That  is  to  say, 
the  uplifted  hand  was  not  the  hand  of  intercession, 
but  the  hand  which  communicated  power  and  victory. 
And  so,  when  the  conflict  is  over,  Moses  builds  this 
memorial  of  thanksgiving  to  God,  and  piles  together 
these  great  stones — which,  perhaps,  still  stand  in  some 
of  the  unexplored  valleys  of  that  weird  desert  land — 
to  teach  Israel  the  laws  of  conflict  and  the  conditions 
of  victory.  These  laws  and  conditions  are  implied  in 
the  name  which  he  gave  to  the  altar  that  he  built — 
Jehovah  Nissi, '  the  Lord  is  my  Banner.' 

Now,  then,  what  do  these  stones,  with  their  significant 
name,  teach  us,  as  they  taught  the  ancient  Israelites  ? 
Let  me  throw  these  lessons  into  three  brief  exhorta- 
tions. 

I.  First,  realise  for  whose  cause  you  fight. 

The  Banner  was  the  symbol  of  the  cause  for  which  an 
army  fought,  or  the  cognizance  of  the  king  or  com- 
mander whom  it  followed.  So  Moses,  by  that  name 
given  to  the  altar,  would  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
the  cowardly  mob  that  he  had  brought  out  of  Egypt 
— and  who  now  had  looked  into  an  enemy's  eyes  for 


74  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.xvh. 

the  first  time — the  elevating  and  bracing  thought  that 
they  were  God's  soldiers,  and  that  the  warfare  which 
they  waged  was  not  for  themselves,  nor  for  the  conquest 
of  the  country  for  their  own  sake,  nor  for  mere  out- 
ward liberty,  but  that  they  were  fighting  that  the  will 
of  God  might  prevail,  and  that  He  might  be  the  King 
now  of  one  land — a  mere  corner  of  the  earth — and 
thereby  might  come  to  be  King  of  all  the  earth.  That 
rude  altar  said  to  Israel:  'Remember,  when  you  go 
into  the  battle,  that  the  battle  is  the  Lord's ;  and  that 
the  standard  under  which  you  war  is  the  God  for 
whose  cause  you  contend — none  else  and  none  less  than 
Jehovah  Himself.  You  are  consecrated  soldiers,  set 
apart  to  fight  for  God.' 

Such  is  the  destination  of  all  Christians.  They  have 
a  battle  to  fight,  of  which  they  do  not  think  loftily 
enough,  unless  they  clearly  and  constantly  recognise 
that  they  are  fighting  on  God's  side. 

I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  particulars  of  this  conflict, 
or  run  into  details  of  the  way  in  which  it  is  to  be 
waged.  Only  let  us  remember  that  the  first  field  upon 
which  we  have  to  fight  for  God  we  carry  about  within 
ourselves;  and  that  there  will  be  no  victories  for  us 
over  other  enemies  until  we  have,  first  of  all,  subdued 
the  foes  that  are  within.  And  then  let  us  remember  that 
the  absorbing  importance  of  inward  conflict  absolves 
no  Christian  man  from  the  duty  of  strenuously  con- 
tending for  all  things  that  are  'lovely  and  of  good 
report,'  and  from  waging  war  against  every  form  of 
sorrow  and  sin  which  his  influence  can  touch.  There 
is  no  surer  way  of  securing  victory  in  the  warfare 
within  and  conquering  self  than  to  throw  myself  into 
the  service  of  others,  and  lose  myself  in  their  sorrows 
and  needs.    There  is  no  possibility  of  my  taking  my 


V.  16]  JEHOVAH  NISSI  75 

share  in  the  merciful  warfare  against  sin  and  sorrow, 
the  tyrants  that  oppress  my  fellows,  unless  I  conquer 
myself.  These  two  fields  of  the  Christian  warfare  are 
not  two  in  the  sense  of  being  separable  from  one 
another,  but  they  are  two  in  the  sense  of  being  the 
inside  and  the  outside  of  the  same  fabric.  The  warfare 
is  one,  though  the  fields  are  two. 

Let  us  remember,  on  the  other  hand,  that  whilst 
it  is  our  simple  bounden  duty,  as  Christian  men  and 
women,  to  reckon  oursel\res  as  anointed  and  called 
for  the  purpose  of  warring  against  sin  and  sorrow, 
wherever  we  can  assail  them,  there  is  nothing  more 
dangerous,  and  few  things  more  common,  than  the 
hasty  identification  of  fighting  for  some  whim,  or 
prejudice,  or  narrow  view,  or  partial  conception  of  our 
own,  with  contending  for  the  establishment  of  the  will 
of  God.  How  many  wicked  things  have  been  done  in 
this  world  for  God's  glory !  How  many  obstinate  men, 
who  were  really  only  forcing  their  own  opinions  down 
people's  throats  because  they  were  theirs,  have  fancied 
themselves  to  be  pure-minded  warriors  for  God !  How 
easy  it  has  been,  in  all  generations,  to  make  the  sign  of 
the  Cross  over  what  had  none  of  the  spirit  of  the  Cross 
in  it ;  and  to  say,  '  The  cause  is  God's,  and  therefore  I 
war  for  it ' ;  when  the  reality  was,  '  The  cause  is  mine, 
and  therefore  I  take  it  for  granted  that  it  is  God's.' 

Let  us  beware  of  the  'wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,'  the 
pretence  of  sanctity  which  is  only  selfishness  with  a 
mask  on.  And,  above  all,  let  us  beware  of  the  un- 
charitableness  and  narrowness  of  view,  the  vehemence 
of  temper,  the  fighting  for  our  own  hands,  the  enforcing 
of  our  own  notions  and  whims  and  peculiarities,  which 
have  often  done  duty  as  being  true  Christian  service 
for  the  Master's  sake.    We  are  God's  host,  but  we  are 


76  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xvii. 

not  to  suppose  that  every  notion  that  we  take  into  our 
heads,  and  for  which  we  may  contend,  is  part  of  the 
cause  of  God. 

And  then  remember  what  sort  of  men  the  soldiers 
in  such  an  army  ought  to  be.  '  Be  ye  clean  that  bear 
the  vessels  of  the  Lord.'  These  bearers  may  either  be 
regarded  as  a  solemn  procession  of  priests  carrying 
the  sacrificial  vessels ;  or,  as  is  more  probable  from 
the  context  of  the  original,  as  the  armour-bearers 
of  the  great  King.  They  must  be  pure  who  bear  His 
weapons,  for  these  are  His  righteous  love,  His  loving 
purity.  If  our  camp  is  the  camp  of  the  Lord,  no 
violence  should  be  there.  What  sanctity,  what  purity, 
what  patience,  what  long-suffering,  what  self-denial, 
and  what  enthusiastic  confidence  of  victory  there 
should  be  in  those  who  can  say,  'We  are  the  Lord's 
host,  Jehovah  is  our  Banner  ! '  He  always  wins  who 
sides  with  God.  And  he  only  worthily  takes  his  place  in 
the  ranks  of  the  sacramental  host  of  the  Most  High 
who  goes  into  the  warfare  knowing  that,  because  He 
is  God's  soldier,  he  will  come  out  of  it,  bringing  his 
victorious  shield  with  him,  and  ready  for  the  laurels  to 
be  twined  round  his  undinted  helmet.  That  is  the  first 
of  the  thoughts,  then,  that  are  here. 

II.  The  second  of  the  exhortations  which  come  from 
the  altar  and  its  name  is.  Remember  whose  commands 
you  follow. 

The  banner  in  ancient  warfare,  even  more  than  in 
modern,  moved  in  front  of  the  host,  and  determined 
the  movements  of  the  army.  And  so,  by  the  stones 
that  he  piled  and  the  name  which  he  gave  them,  Moses 
taught  Israel  and  us  that  they  and  we  are  under  the 
command  of  God,  and  that  it  is  the  movements  of  His 
staff  that  are  to  be  followed.   Absolute  obedience  is  the 


V.  15]  JEHOVAH  NISSI  77 

first  duty  of  the  Christian  soldier,  and  absolute  obedi- 
ence means  the  entire  suppression  of  my  own  will,  the 
holding  of  it  in  equilibrium  until  He  puts  His  finger  on 
the  side  that  He  desires  to  dip  and  lets  the  other  rise. 
They  only  understand  their  place  as  Christ's  servants 
and  soldiers  who  have  learned  to  hush  their  own  will 
until  they  know  their  Captain's.  In  order  to  be  blessed, 
to  be  strong,  to  be  victorious,  the  indispensable  con- 
dition is  that  our  inmost  desire  shall  be,  'Not  my  will, 
but  Thine  be  done.' 

Sometimes,  and  often,  there  will  be  perplexities  in 
our  daily  lives,  and  conflicts  very  hard  to  unravel.  We 
shall  often  be  brought  to  a  point  where  we  cannot  see 
which  way  the  Banner  is  leading  us.  What  then  ?  '  It 
is  good  that  a  man  should  both  hope  and  quietly  wait' 
for  the  salvation  and  for  the  guidance  of  his  God.  And 
we  shall  generally  find  that  it  is  when  we  are  looking 
too  far  ahead  that  we  do  not  get  guidance.  You  will 
not  get  guidance  to-day  for  this  day  next  week.  When 
this  day  next  week  comes,  it  will  bring  its  own  en- 
lightenment with  it. 

•  Lead,  kindly  Light,  .  .  . 

.  .  .  One  step  enough  for  me;* 

Let  us  take  short  views  both  of  duty  and  of  hope,  and 
we  shall  not  so  often  have  to  complain  that  we  are  left 
without  knowing  what  the  Commander's  orders  are. 
Sometimes  we  are  so  left,  and  that  is  a  lesson  in 
patience,  and  is  generally  God's  way  of  telling  us  that 
it  is  not  His  will  that  we  should  do  anything  at  all  just 
yet.  Sometimes  we  are  so  left  in  order  that  we  may 
put  our  hand  out  through  the  darkness,  and  hold  on  by 
Him,  and  say,  *  I  know  not  what  to  do,  but  mine  eyes 
are  towards  Thee.' 


78  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xvii. 

And  be  sure  of  this,  brethren,  that  He  will  not  desert 
His  own  promise,  and  that  they  who  in  their  inmost 
hearts  can  say,  'The  Lord  is  my  Banner,'  will  never 
have  to  complain  that  He  led  them  into  a  'pathless 
wilderness  where  there  was  no  way.'  It  is  sometimes 
a  very  narrow  track,  it  is  often  a  very  rough  one,  it  is 
sometimes  a  dreadfully  solitary  one;  but  He  always 
goes  before  us,  and  they  who  hold  His  hand  will  not 
hold  it  in  vain.  'The  Lord  is  my  Banner';  obey  His 
orders  and  do  not  take  anybody  else's ;  nor,  above  all, 
the  suggestions  of  that  impatient,  talkative  heart  of 
yours,  instead  of  His  commandments. 

III.  Lastly,  the  third  lesson  that  these  grey  stones 
preach  to  us  is,  Recognise  by  whose  power  you  conquer. 

The  banner,  I  suppose,  to  us  English  people,  suggests 
a  false  idea.  It  suggests  the  notion  of  a  flag,  ,or  some 
bit  of  flexible  drapery  which  fluttered  and  flapped  in 
the  wind ;  but  the  banner  of  old-world  armies  was  a 
rigid  pole,  with  some  solid  ornament  of  bright  metal 
on  the  top,  so  as  to  catch  the  light.  The  banner-staff 
spoken  of  in  the  text  links  itself  with  the  preceding 
incident.  I  said  that  Moses  stood  on  the  mountain-top 
with  the  rod  in  his  hand.  Now  that  rod  was  exactly  a 
miniature  banner,  and  when  he  lifted  it,  victory  came 
to  Israel ;  and  when  it  fell,  victory  deserted  their  arms. 
So  by  the  altar's  name  he  would  say.  Do  not  suppose 
that  it  was  Moses  that  won  the  battle,  nor  that  it  was 
the  rod  that  Moses  carried  in  his  hand  that  brought 
you  strength.  The  true  Victor  was  Jehovah,  and  it 
was  He  who  was  Moses'  Banner.  It  was  by  Him  that 
the  lifted  rod  brought  victory;  as  for  Moses,  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it;  and  the  people  had  to  look 
higher  than  the  hill-top  where  he  sat. 

This  thought  puts  stress  on  the  first  word  of  the  phrase 


V.15]  JEHOVAH  NISSI  79 

instead  of  on  the  last,  as  in  my  previous  remarks. 
•The  Lord  is  my  Banner,'  — no  Moses,  no  outward 
symbol,  no  man  or  thing,  but  only  He  Himself.  There- 
fore, in  all  our  duties,  and  in  all  our  difficulties,  and  in 
all  our  conflicts,  and  for  all  our  conquests,  we  are  to 
look  away  from  creatures,  self,  externals,  and  to  look 
only  to  God.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  trust  in  rods 
instead  of  in  Him,  in  Moses  instead  of  in  Moses' 
Lord. 

We  are  all  too  apt  to  trust  in  externals,  in  organisa- 
tions, sacraments,  services,  committees,  outside  aids  of 
all  sorts,  as  our  means  for  doing  God's  work,  and  bring- 
ing power  to  us  and  blessing  to  the  world.  Let  us  get 
away  from  them  all,  dig  deeper  down  than  any  of  these, 
be  sure  that  these  are  but  surface  reservoirs,  but  that 
the  fountain  which  fills  them  with  any  refreshing 
liquid  which  they  may  bear  lies  in  God  Himself.  Why 
should  we  trouble  ourselves  about  reservoirs  when  we 
can  go  to  the  Fountain?  Why  should  we  put  such 
reliance  on  churches  and  services  and  preaching  and 
sermons  and  schemes  and  institutions  and  organisa- 
tions when  we  have  the  divine  Lord  Himself  for  our 
strength  ?  '  Jehovah  is  my  Banner,'  and  Moses'  rod  is 
only  a  symbol.  At  most  it  is  like  a  lightning-conductor, 
but  it  is  not  the  lightning.  The  lightning  will  come 
without  the  rod,  if  our  eyes  are  to  the  heaven,  for  the 
true  power  that  brings  God  down  to  men  is  that  for- 
saking of  externals  and  waiting  upon  Him  which  He 
never  refuses  to  answer. 

In  like  manner  we  are  too  apt  to  put  far  too  much 
confidence  in  human  teachers  and  human  helpers  of 
various  kinds.  And  when  God  takes  them  away  we 
say  to  ourselves  that  there  is  a  gap  that  can  never  be 
filled.    Ay !  but  the  great  sea  can  come  in  and  fill 


80  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xviii. 

any  gap,  and  make  the  deepest  and  the  driest  of  the 
excavations  in  the  desert  to  abound  in  sweet  water. 

So  let  us  turn  away  from  everything  external, 
gather  in  our  souls  and  fix  our  hopes  on  Him ;  let  us 
recognise  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Christian  warfare 
which  is  laid  upon  us ;  let  us  docilely  submit  ourselves 
to  His  sweet  commands,  and  trust  in  His  sufficient  and 
punctual  guidance,  and  not  expect  from  any  outward 
sources  that  which  no  outward  sources  can  ever  give, 
but  which  He  Himself  will  give — strength  to  our  fingers 
to  fight,  and  weapons  for  the  warfare,  and  covering  for 
our  heads  in  the  day  of  battle. 

And  then,  when  our  lives  are  done,  may  the  only 
inscription  on  the  stone  that  covers  us  be  '  Jehovah 
Nissi :  the  Lord  is  my  banner ' !  The  trophy  that  com- 
memorates the  Christian's  victory  should  bear  no  name 
but  His  by  whose  grace  we  are  more  than  conquerors. 
'  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.* 


GERSHOM  AND  ELIEZER 

'  The  name  of  the  one  [of  Moses'  sons]  was  Gershom  .  .  .  and  the  name  of  the 
other  was  Eliezer.  .  .  .'—Exodus  zviii.  3,L 

In  old  times  parents  often  used  to  give  expression  to 
their  hopes  or  their  emotions  in  the  names  of  their 
children.  Very  clearly  that  was  the  case  in  Moses' 
naming  of  his  two  sons,  who  seem  to  have  been  the 
whole  of  his  family.  The  significance  of  each  name 
is  appended  to  it  in  the  text.  The  explanation  of  the 
first  is, '  For  he  said,  I  have  been  an  alien  in  a  strange 
land';  and  that  of  the  second,  'For  the  God  of  my 


vs.  3, 4]      GERSHOM  AND  ELIEZER  81 

fathers,  said  he,  was  mine  help,  and  delivered  me  from 
the  sword  of  Pharaoh.*  These  two  names  give  us  a 
pathetic  glimpse  of  the  feelings  with  which  Moses 
began  his  exile,  and  of  the  better  thoughts  into  which 
these  gradually  cleared.  The  first  child's  name  ex- 
presses his  father's  discontent,  and  suggests  the  bitter 
contrast  between  Sinai  and  Egypt ;  the  court  and  the 
sheepfold;  the  gloomy,  verdureless,  gaunt  peaks  of 
Sinai,  blazing  in  the  fierce  sunshine,  and  the  cool, 
luscious  vegetation  of  Goshen,  the  land  for  cattle.  The 
exile  felt  himself  all  out  of  joint  with  his  surroundings, 
and  so  he  called  the  little  child  that  came  to  him 
*  Gershom,'  which,  according  to  one  explanation,  means 
'  banishment,'  and,  according  to  another  (a  kind  of 
punning  etymology),  means  *  a  stranger  here ' ;  in  the 
other  case  expressing  the  same  sense  of  homelessness 
and  want  of  harmony  with  his  surroundings.  But 
as  the  years  went  on,  Moses  began  to  acclimatise  him- 
self, and  to  become  more  reconciled  to  his  position  and 
to  see  things  more  as  they  really  were.  So,  when  the 
second  child  is  born,  all  his  murmuring  has  been  hushed, 
and  he  looks  beyond  circumstances,  and  lays  his  hand 
upon  God.  •  And  the  name  of  the  second  was  Eliezer, 
for,  he  said,  the  God  of  my  fathers  was  my  help.' 

Now,  there  are  the  two  main  streams  of  thought  that 
filled  these  forty  years ;  and  it  was  worth  while  to  put 
Moses  into  the  desert  for  all  that  time,  and  to  break 
off  the  purposes  and  hopes  of  his  life  sharp  and  short, 
and  to  condemn  him  to  comparative  idleness,  or  work 
that  was  all  unfitted  to  bring  out  his  special  powers, 
for  that  huge  scantling  out  of  his  life,  one-third  of  the 
whole  of  it,  in  order  that  there  might  be  burnt  into 
him,  not  either  of  these  two  thoughts  separately,  but 
the  two  of  them  in  their  blessed  conjunction ;  '  I  am  a 

F 


^2  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xviii. 

stranger  here ' ;  '  God  is  my  Help.*  And  so  these  are 
the  thoughts  which,  in  like  juxtaposition,  ought  to  be 
ours ;  and  in  higher  fashion  with  regard  to  the  former 
of  them  than  was  experienced  by  Moses.  Let  me  say 
a  word  or  two  about  each  of  these  two  things.  Let  us 
think  of  the  strangers,  and  of  the  divine  helper  that 
is  with  the  strangers. 

L  *  A  stranger  here.* 

Now,  that  is  true,  in  the  deepest  sense,  about  all 
men;  for  the  one  thing  that  makes  the  difference 
between  the  man  and  the  beast  is  that  the  beast  is 
perfectly  at  home  in  his  surroundings,  and  gets  all 
that  he  needs  out  of  them,  and  finds  in  them  a  field 
for  all  that  he  can  do,  and  is  fully  developed  to  the 
very  highest  point  of  his  capacity  by  what  people 
nowadays  call  the  *  environment '  in  which  he  is  put. 
But  the  very  opposite  is  the  case  in  regard  to  us  men. 
'Foxes  have  holes,'  and  they  are  quite  comfortable 
there ;  '  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  roosting-places,' 
and  tuck  their  heads  under  their  wings  and  go  to  sleep 
without  a  care  and  without  a  consciousness.  *  But  the 
Son  of  man,'  the  ideal  Humanity  as  well  as  the  realised 
ideal  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  '  hath  not  where  to 
lay  His  head.'  No ;  because  He  is  so  '  much  better  than 
they.'  Their  immunity  from  care  is  not  a  prerogative 
— it  is  an  inferiority.  We  are  plunged  into  the  midst 
of  a  scene  of  things  which  obviously  does  not  match 
our  capacities.  There  is  a  great  deal  more  in  every 
man  than  can  ever  find  a  field  of  expression,  of  work, 
or  of  satisfaction  in  anything  beneath  the  stars.  And 
no  man  that  understands,  even  superficially,  his  own 
character,  his  own  requirements,  can  fail  to  feel  in  his 
sane  and  quiet  moments,  when  the  rush  of  temptation 
and  the  illusions  of  this  fleeting  life  have  lost   their 


vs.  3,  4]      GERSHOM  AND  ELIEZER  83 

grip  upon  him :  '  This  ia  not  the  place  that  can  bring 
out  all  that  is  in  me,  or  that  can  yield  me  all  that 
I  desire.'  Our  capacities  transcend  the  present,  and 
the  experiences  of  the  present  are  all  unintelligible, 
unless  the  true  end  of  every  human  life  is  not  here  at 
all,  but  in  another  region,  for  which  these  experienceB 
are  fitting  us. 

But,  then,  the  temptations  of  life,  the  strong  appeals 
of  flesh  and  sense,  the  duties  which  in  their  proper 
place  are  lofty  and  elevating  and  refining,  and  put  out 
of  their  place,  are  contemptible  and  degrading,  all  come 
in  to  make  it  hard  for  any  of  us  to  keep  clearly  before 
us  what  our  consciousness  tells  us  when  it  is  strongly 
appealed  to,  that  we  are  strangers  and  sojourners  here 
and  that  this  is  not  '  our  rest,  because  it  is  polluted.* 
Therefore  it  comes  to  be  the  great  glory  and  blessed- 
ness  of  the  Christian   Revelation    that   it    obviously 
shifts  the  centre  for  us,  and  makes  that  future,  and 
not  this  present,  the  aim  for  which,  and  in  the  pursuit 
of  which,  we  are  to  live.     So,  Christian  people,  in  a  far 
higher  sense   than  Moses,  who  only  felt  himself  *a 
stranger  there,'  because  he  did  not  like  Midian  as  well 
as  Egypt,  have  to  say,  'We  are  strangers  here';  and 
the  very  aim,  in  one  aspect,  of  our  Christian  discipline 
of  ourselves  is  that  we  shall  keep  vivid,  in  the  face  of 
all  the  temptations  to  forget  it,  this  consciousness  of 
being  away  from  our  true  home. 

One  means  of  doing  that  is  to  think  rather  oftener 
than  the  most  of  us  do,  about  our  true  home.  You 
have  heard,  I  dare  say,  of  half -reclaimed  gipsies,  who 
for  a  while  have  been  coaxed  out  of  the  free  life 
of  the  woods  and  the  moors,  and  have  gone  into 
settled  homes.  After  a  while  there  has  come  over  them 
a  rush  of  feeling,  a  remembrance  of  how  blessed  it  used 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [cH.xvin. 

to  be  out  in  the  open  and  away  from  the  squalor  and 
filth  where  men  '  sit  and  hear  each  other  groan,'  and 
they  have  flung  off  '  as  if  they  were  fetters '  the  trap- 
pings of  *  civilisation,'  and  gone  back  to  liberty.  That 
is  what  we  ought  to  do — not  going  back  from  the  higher 
to  the  lower,  but  smitten  with  what  the  Germans  call 
the  heimweh,  the  home-sickness,  that  makes  us  feel 
that  we  must  get  clearer  sight  of  that  land  to  which 
we  truly  belong. 

Do  you  think  about  it,  do  you  feel  that  where  Jesus 
Christ  is,  is  your  home  ?  I  have  no  doubt  that  most  of 
you  have,  or  have  had,  dear  ones  here  on  earth  about 
whom  you  could  say  that, '  Where  my  husband,  my  wife 
is  ;  where  my  beloved  is,  or  my  children  are,  that  is  my 
home,  wherever  my  abode  may  be.'  Are  you,  Christian 
people,  saying  the  same  thing  about  heaven  and  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Do  you  feel  that  you  are  strangers  here,  not 
only  because  you,  reflecting  upon  your  character  and 
capacities  and  on  human  life,  see  that  all  these  require 
another  life  for  their  explanation  and  development, 
but  because  your  hearts  are  knit  to  Him,  and  '  where 
your  treasure  is  there  your  heart  is  also ' ;  and  where 
your  heart  is  there  you  are  ?  We  go  home  when  we 
come  into  communion  with  Jesus  Christ.  Do  you  ever, 
in  the  course  of  the  rush  of  your  daily  work,  think 
about  the  calm  city  beyond  the  sea,  and  about  its 
King,  and  that  you  belong  to  it  ?  *  Our  citizenship  is  in 
heaven,'  and  here  we  are  strangers. 

II.  Now  let  me  say  a  word  about  the  other  child's 
name. 

*  God  is  Helper.'  We  do  not  know  what  interval  of 
time  elapsed  between  the  birth  of  these  two  children. 
There  are  some  indications  that  the  second  of  them 
was  in  years  very  much   the   junior.      Perhaps    the 


vs.  3, 4]      GERSHOM  AND  ELIEZER  85 

transition  from  the  mood  represented  in  the  one  name 
to  that  represented  in  the  other,  was  a  long  and  slow 
process.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  note  the  connection 
between  these  two  names.  You  can  never  say  '  We  are 
strangers  here '  without  feeling  a  little  prick  of  pain, 
unless  you  say  too  '  God  is  my  Helper.'  There  is  a 
beautiful  variation  of  the  former  word  which  will  occur 
to  many  of  you,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  one  of  the  old 
psalms :  '  I  am  a  stranger  with  Thee,  and  a  sojourner, 
as  were  all  my  fathers.'  There  is  the  secret  that  takes 
away  all  the  mourning,  all  the  possible  discomfort  and 
pain,  out  of  the  thought :  *  Here  we  have  no  continuing 
city,'  and  makes  it  all  blessed.  It  does  not  matter 
whether  we  are  in  a  foreign  land  or  no,  if  we  have 
that  Companion  with  us.  His  presence  will  make 
blessedness  in  Midian,  or  in  Thebes.  It  does  not  matter 
whether  it  is  Goshen  or  the  wilderness,  if  the  Lord  is 
by  our  side.  So  sweetness  is  breathed  into  the  thought, 
and  bitterness  is  sucked  out  of  it,  when  the  name  of 
the  second  child  is  braided  into  the  name  of  the  first ; 
and  we  can  contemplate  quietly  all  else  of  tragic  and 
limiting  and  sad  that  is  involved  in  the  thought  that 
we  are  sojourners  and  pilgrims,  when  we  say  '  Yes !  we 
are ;  but  the  Lord  is  my  Helper.' 

Then,  on  the  other  hand,  we  shall  never  say  and  feel 
•  the  Lord  is  my  Helper,'  as  we  ought  to  do,  until  we 
have  got  deep  in  our  hearts,  and  settled  in  our  con- 
sciousness, the  other  conviction  that  we  are  strangers 
here.  It  is  only  when  we  realise  that  there  is  no  other 
permanence  for  us  that  we  put  out  our  hands  and 
grasp  at  the  Eternal,  in  order  not  to  be  swept  away 
upon  the  dark  waves  of  the  rushing  stream  of  Time. 
It  is  only  when  all  other  props  are  stricken  from  us 
that  we  rest  our  whole  weight  upon  that  one  strong 


86  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xviii. 

central  pillar,  which  can  never  be  moved.  Learn  that 
God  helps,  for  that  makes  it  possible  to  say  'I  am  a 
stranger,'  and  not  to  weep.  Learn  that  you  are 
strangers,  for  that  stimulates  to  take  God  for  oui 
help.  Just  as  when  the  floods  are  out,  men  are  driven 
to  the  highest  ground  to  save  their  lives ;  so  when  the 
billows  of  the  waters  of  time  are  seen  to  be  rolling  over 
all  creatural  things,  we  take  our  flight  to  the  Rock  of 
Ages.  Put  the  two  together,  and  they  fit  one  another 
and  strengthen  us. 

This  second  conviction  was  the  illuminating  light 
upon  a  perplexed  and  problematic  past.  Moses,  when  he 
fled  from  Egypt,  thought  that  his  life's  work  was  rent 
in  twain.  He  had  believed  that  his  brethren  would 
have  seen  that  it  was  God's  purpose  to  use  him  as  the 
deliverer.  For  the  sake  of  being  such,  he  had  sur- 
rendered the  court  and  its  delights.  But  on  his  young 
ambition  and  innocent  enthusiasm  there  came  this 
douche  of  cold  water,  which  lasted  for  forty  years,  and 
sent  him  away  into  the  wilderness,  to  be  a  shepherd 
under  an  Arab  sheikh,  with  nothing  to  look  forward  to. 
At  first  he  said, '  This  is  not  what  I  was  meant  for ;  I 
am  out  of  my  element  here.'  But  before  the  forty 
years  were  over  he  said,  '  The  God  of  my  father  was 
my  help,  and  He  delivered  me  from  the  sword  of 
Pharaoh.*  What  had  looked  a  disaster  turned  out  to 
be  a  deliverance,  a  manifestation  of  divine  help,  and 
not  a  hindrance.  He  had  got  far  enough  away  from 
that  past  to  look  at  it  sanely,  that  is  to  say  gratefully. 
So  we,  when  we  get  far  enough  away  from  our  sorrows, 
can  look  back  at  them,  sometimes  even  here  on  earth, 
and  say,  '  The  mercy  of  the  Lord  compassed  me  about.' 
Here  is  the  key  that  unlocks  all  the  perplexities  of 
providence,  *  The  Lord  was  my  Helper.' 


vs.  3,  4]      GERSHOM  AND  ELIEZER  87 

And  that  conviction  vrill  steady  and  uphold  a  man  in 
a  present,  however  dark.  It  was  no  small  exercise  of 
his  faith  and  patience  that  the  great  lawgiver  should 
for  so  many  years  have  such  unworthy  work  to  do  as 
he  had  in  Midian.  But  even  then  he  gathered  into  his 
heart  this  confidence,  and  brought  summer  about  him 
into  the  mid- winter  of  his  life,  and  light  into  the  midst 
of  darkness ;  '  for  he  said ' — even  then,  when  there  was 
no  work  for  him  to  do  that  seemed  much  to  need  a 
divine  help — *  the  Lord  is  my  Helper.' 

And  so,  however  dark  may  be  our  present  moment, 
and  however  obscure  or  repulsive  our  own  tasks,  let 
us  fall  back  upon  that  old  word,  *  Thou  hast  been  my 
Help ;  leave  me  not,  neither  forsake  me,  O  God  of 
my  salvation.' 

When  Moses  named  his  boy,  his  gratitude  was  allied 
with  faith  in  favours  to  come ;  and  when  he  said  *  was,' 
he  meant  also  '  will  be.'  And  he  was  right.  He  dreamt 
yery  little  of  what  was  coming,  but  this  confidence 
that  was  expressed  in  his  second  child's  name  was 
warranted  by  that  great  future  that  lay  before  him, 
though  he  did  not  know  it.  When  the  pinch  came 
his  confidence  faltered.  It  was  easy  to  say  *  The  Lord 
is  my  Helper,'  when  there  was  nothing  very  special 
for  which  God's  help  was  needed,  and  nothing  harder 
to  do  than  to  look  after  a  few  sheep  in  the  wilderness. 
But  when  God  said  to  him,  'Go  and  stand  before 
Pharaoh,'  Moses  for  the  moment  forgot  all  about  God's 
being  his  helper,  and  was  full  of  all  manner  of  cowardly 
excuses,  which,  like  the  excuses  of  a  great  many  more 
of  us  for  not  doing  our  plain  duty,  took  the  shape  of 
a  very  engaging  modesty  and  diifidence  as  to  his 
capacities.  But  God  said  to  him,  '  Surely  I  will  be  with 
thee.'    He  gave  him  back  '  Eliezer,'  in  a  little  different 


88  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [cH.xvm. 

form.  •  You  used  to  say  that  I  was  your  helper.  "What 
has  become  of  your  faith  now  ?  Has  it  all  evaporated 
when  the  trial  comes?  Surely  I  will  be  with  thee.' 
If  we  will  set  ourselves  to  our  tasks,  not  doubting 
God's  help,  we  shall  have  occasion  in  the  event  to  be 
sure  that  God  did  help  us. 

So,  brethren,  let  us  cherish  these  two  thoughts,  and 
never  keep  them  apart,  and  God  will  be,  as  our  good 
old  hymn  has  it — 

•  Our  help  while  troubles  Iast» 
And  our  eternal  home.' 


THE  IDEAL  STATESMAN* 

'  Thou  Bhalt  provide  out  of  all  the  people  able  men,  such  as  fear  God,  men  of 
truth,  hating  covetousness;  and  place  such  over  them.'— Exodus  xviii.  21. 

You  will  have  anticipated  my  purpose  in  selecting  this 
text.  I  should  be  doing  violence  to  your  feelings  and 
mine  if  I  made  no  reference  to  the  event  which  has 
united  the  Empire  and  the  world  in  one  sentiment. 
The  great  tree  has  fallen,  and  the  crash  has  for  the 
moment  silenced  all  the  sounds  of  the  forest.  Wars 
abroad  and  controversies  at  home  are  hushed.  All 
men,  of  all  schools  of  opinion,  creeds,  and  parties,  see 
now,  in  the  calm  face  of  the  dead,  *  the  likeness  to  the 
great  of  old ' ;  and  it  says  something,  with  all  our  faults, 
for  the  soundness  of  the  heart  of  English  opinion,  that 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  have  brought  their  sad 
wreaths  to  lay  them  on  that  coffin. 

But,  whilst  much  has  been  said,  far  more  eloquently 

and  authoritatively  than  I  can  say  it,  about  the  many 

aspects  of  that  many-sided  life,  surely  it  becomes  us,  as 

Christian  people,  to  look  at  it  from  the  distinctively 

*  Preached  on  occasion  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  death. 


V.  21]         THE  IDEAL  STATESMAN  89 

Christian  point  of  view,  and  to  gather  some  of  the 
lessons  which,  so  regarded,  it  teaches  us. 

My  text  is  part  of  the  sagacious  advice  which  Jethro, 
the  father-in-law  of  Moses,  gave  him  about  the  sort  of 
men  that  he  should  pick  out  to  be  his  lieutenants  in 
civic  government.  Its  old-fashioned,  simple  phrase- 
ology may  hide  from  some  of  us  the  elevation  and 
comprehensiveness  of  the  ideal  that  it  sets  forth.  But 
it  is  a  grand  ideal ;  and  amongst  the  great  names  of 
Englishmen  who  have  guided  the  destinies  of  this  land, 
none  have  approached  more  nearly  to  it  than  he  whose 
death  has  taken  away  the  most  striking  personality 
from  our  public  life. 

So  let  me  ask  you  to  look  with  me,  first,  at  the  ideal 
of  a  politician  that  is  set  forth  here. 

The  free  life  of  the  desert,  far  away  from  the  oppres- 
sions of  surrounding  military  despotisms,  that  remark- 
able and  antique  constitution  of  the  clan,  with  all  its 
beautiful  loyalty,  had  given  this  Arab  sheikh  a  far 
loftier  conception  of  what  a  ruler  of  men  was  than 
he  could  have  found  exemplified  at  Pharaoh's  court ; 
or  than,  alas!  has  been  common  in  many  so-called 
Christian  countries.  The  field  upon  which  he  intended 
that  these  great  qualities  should  be  exercised  was  a 
very  limited  one,  to  manage  the  little  affairs  of  a 
handful  of  fugitives  in  the  desert.  But  the  scale  on 
which  we  work  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  principles 
by  which  we  work,  and  the  laws  of  perspective  and 
colouring  are  the  same,  whether  you  paint  the  minutest 
miniature  or  a  gigantic  fresco.  So  what  was  needed 
for  managing  the  little  concerns  of  Moses'  wanderers 
in  the  wilderness  is  the  ideal  of  what  is  needed  for 
the  men  who  direct  the  public  affairs  of  world-wide 
empires. 


90  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xviii. 

Let  me  run  over  the  details.  They  must  be  'able 
mien,'  or,  as  the  original  has  it,  *  men  of  strength.'  There 
is  the  intellectual  basis,  and  especially  the  basis  of  firm, 
brave,  strongly-set  will  which  will  grasp  convictions, 
and,  whatever  comes,  will  follow  them  to  their  con- 
clusions. The  statesman  is  not  one  that  puts  his  ear 
down  to  the  ground  to  hear  the  tramp  of  some  advanc- 
ing host,  and  then  makes  up  his  mind  to  follow  in  their 
paths ;  he  is  not  sensitive  to  the  varying  winds  of  public 
opinion,  nor  does  he  trim  his  sails  to  suit  them,  but  he 
comes  to  his  convictions  by  first-hand  approach  to,  and 
meditation  on,  the  great  principles  that  are  to  guide, 
and  then  holds  to  them  with  a  strength  that  nothing 
can  weaken,  and  a  courage  that  nothing  can  daunt. 
'Men  of  strength'  is  what  democracies  like  ours  do 
most  need  in  their  leaders ;  a  '  strong  man,  in  a  blatant 
land,'  who  knows  his  own  mind,  and  is  faithful  to  it  for 
ever.    That  is  a  great  demand. 

'  Such  as  fear  God ' — there  is  the  secret  of  strength, 
not  merely  in  reference  to  the  intellectual  powers  which 
are  not  dependent  for  their  origin,  though  they  may 
be  for  the  health  and  vigour  of  their  work,  upon  any 
religious  sentiment,  but  in  regard  to  all  true  power. 
He  that  would  govern  others  must  first  be  lord  of 
himself,  and  he  only  is  lord  of  himself  who  is  con- 
sciously and  habitually  the  servant  of  God.  So  that 
whatever  natural  endowment  we  start  with,  it  must 
be  heightened,  purified,  deepened,  enlarged,  by  the 
presence  in  our  lives  of  a  deep  and  vital  religious 
conviction.  That  is  true  about  all  men,  leaders  and 
led,  large  and  small.  That  is  the  bottom-heat  in  the 
greenhouse,  as  it  were,  that  will  make  riper  and 
sweeter  all  the  fruits  which  are  the  natural  result  of 
natural  capacities.    That  is  the  amulet  and  the  charm 


V.  21]         THE  IDEAL  STATESMAN  91 

which  will  keep  a  man  from  the  temptations  incident 
to  his  position  and  the  weaknesses  incident  to  his 
character.  The  fear  of  God  underlies  the  noblest  lives. 
That  is  not  to-day's  theory.  We  are  familiar  with  the 
fact,  and  familiar  with  the  doctrine  formulated  out  of 
it,  that  there  may  be  men  of  strong  and  noble  lives  and 
great  leaders  in  many  a  department  of  human  activity 
without  any  reference  to  the  Unseen.  Yes,  there  may 
be,  but  they  are  all  fragments,  and  the  complete  man 
comes  only  when  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  guide,  leader, 
impulse,  polestar,  regulator,  corrector,  and  inspirer  of 
all  that  he  is  and  all  that  he  does. 

*  Men  of  truth ' — that,  of  course,  glances  at  the  crooked 
ways  which  belong  not  only  to  Eastern  statesmanship, 
but  it  does  more  than  that.  He  that  is  to  lead  men 
must  himself  be  led  by  an  eager  haste  to  follow  after, 
and  to  apprehend,  the  very  truth  of  things.  And  there 
must  be  in  him  clear  transparent  willingness  to  render 
his  utmost  allegiance,  at  any  sacrifice,  to  the  dawning 
convictions  that  may  grow  upon  him.  It  is  only  fools 
that  do  not  change.  Freshness  of  enthusiasm,  and 
fidelity  to  new  convictions  opening  upon  a  man,  to 
the  end  of  his  life,  are  not  the  least  important  of  the 
requirements  in  him  who  would  persuade  and  guide 
individuals  or  a  nation. 

•Hating  covetousness ' ;  or,  as  it  might  be  rendered, 
'unjust  gain.'  That  reference  to  the  'oiling  of  the 
palms '  of  Eastern  judges  may  be  taken  in  a  loftier 
signification.  If  a  man  is  to  stand  forth  as  the  leader 
of  a  people,  he  must  be  clear,  as  old  Samuel  said  that 
he  was,  from  all  suspicion  of  having  been  following  out 
his  career  for  any  form  of  personal  advantage.  •  Clean 
hands,'  and  that  not  only  from  the  vulgar  filth  of 
wealth,  but  from  the  more  subtle  advantages  which 


92  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xviii. 

may  accrue  from  a  lofty  position,  are  demianded  of  the 
leader  of  men. 

Such  is  the  ideal.  The  requirements  are  stern  and 
high,  and  they  exclude  the  vermin  that  infest  *  politics,' 
as  they  are  called,  and  cause  them  to  stink  in 
many  nostrils.  The  self-seeking  schemer,  the  one-eyed 
partisan,  the  cynic  who  disbelieves  in  ideals  of  any  sort, 
the  charlatan  who  assumes  virtues  that  he  does  not 
possess,  and  mouths  noble  sentiments  that  go  no  deeper 
than  his  teeth,  are  all  shut  out  by  them.  The  doctrine 
that  a  man  may  do  in  his  public  capacity  things  which 
would  be  disgraceful  in  private  life,  and  yet  retain  his 
personal  honour  untarnished,  is  blown  to  atoms  by  this 
ideal.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  and  in  some  senses 
to  be  censured,  that  so  many  of  our  wisest,  best,  and 
most  influential  men  stand  apart  from  public  life. 
Much  of  that  is  due  to  personal  bias,  much  more  of  it 
is  due  to  the  pressure  of  more  congenial  duties,  and 
not  a  little  of  it  is  due  to  the  disregard  of  Jethro's 
ideal,  and  to  the  degradation  of  public  life  which  has 
ensued  thereby.  But  there  have  been  great  men  in 
our  history  whose  lives  have  helped  to  lift  up  the  ideal 
of  a  statesman,  who  have  made  such  a  sketch  as  Jethro 
outlined,  though  they  may  not  have  used  his  words, 
their  polestar ;  and  amongst  the  highest  of  these  has 
been  the  man  whose  loss  we  to-day  lament. 

Let  me  try  to  vindicate  that  expression  of  opinion  in 
a  word  or  two.  I  cannot  hope  to  vie  in  literary  grace, 
or  in  completeness,  with  the  eulogies  that  have  been 
abundantly  poured  out ;  and  I  should  not  have  thought 
it  right  to  divert  this  hour  of  worship  from  its  ordinary 
themes,  if  I  had  had  no  more  to  say  than  has  been  far 
better  said  a  thousand  times  in  these  last  days.  But 
I  cannot  help  noticing  that,  though  there  has  been  a 


V.21]  THE  IDEAL  STATESMAN  98 

consensus  of  admiration  of,  and  a  practically  unanimous 
pointing  to,  character  as  after  all  the  secret  of  the  spell 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  has  exercised  for  two  generations, 
there  has  not  been,  as  it  seems  to  me,  equal  and  due 
prominence  given  to  what  was,  and  what  he  himself 
would  have  said  was,  the  real  root  of  his  character 
and  the  productive  cause  of  his  achievements. 

And  so  I  venture  now  to  say  a  word  or  two  about 
the  religion  of  the  man  that  to  his  own  conscious- 
ness underlay  all  the  rest  of  him.  It  is  not  for  me 
to  speak,  and  there  is  no  need  to  speak,  about  the 
marvellous  natural  endowments  and  the  equally  mar- 
vellous, many-sided  equipment  of  attainment  which 
enriched  the  rich,  natural  soil.  Intermeddling  as  he 
did  with  all  knowledge,  he  must  necessarily  have  been 
but  an  amateur  in  many  of  the  subjects  into  which  he 
rushed  with  such  generous  eagerness.  But  none  the 
less  is  the  example  of  all  but  omnivorous  acquisitive- 
ness of  everything  that  was  to  be  known,  a  protest, 
very  needful  in  these  days,  against  the  possible  evils  of 
an  excessive  specialising  which  the  very  progress  of 
knowledge  in  all  departments  seems  to  make  inevitable. 
I  do  not  need  to  speak,  either,  of  the  flow,  and  some- 
times the  torrent,  of  eloquence  ever  at  his  command, 
nor  of  the  lithe  and  sinewy  force  of  his  extra- 
ordinarily nimble,  as  well  as  massive,  mind ;  nor  need  I 
say  more  than  one  word  about  the  remarkable  com- 
bination of  qualities  so  generally  held  and  seen  to  be 
incompatible,  which  put  into  one  personality  a  genius 
for  dry  arithmetical  figures  and  a  genius  for  enthusiasm 
and  sympathy  with  all  the  oppressed.  All  these  things 
have  been  said  far  better  than  I  can  say  them,  and  I 
do  not  repeat  them. 

But  I  desire  to  hammer  this  one  conviction  into  your 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xvm. 

hearts  and  my  own,  that  the  inmost  secret  of  that 
noble  life,  of  all  that  wealth  of  capacity,  all  that  load 
of  learning,  which  he  bore  lightly  like  a  flower,  was  the 
fact  that  the  man  was,  to  the  very  depths  of  his  nature, 
a  devout  Christian.  He  would  have  been  as  capable, 
as  eloquent,  and  all  the  rest  of  it,  if  he  had  been  an 
unbeliever.  But  he  would  never  have  been  nor  done 
what  he  was  and  did,  and  he  would  never  have  left  the 
dint  of  an  impressive  and  lofty  personality  upon  a 
whole  nation  and  a  world,  if  beneath  the  intellect 
there  had  not  been  character,  and  beneath  character 
Christianity. 

He  was  far  removed,  in  ecclesiastical  connections, 
from  us  Nonconformists,  and  he  held  opinions  in  regard 
to  some  very  important  ecclesiastical  questions  which 
cut  straight  across  some  of  our  deepest  convictions. 
We  never  had  to  look  for  much  favour  from  his  hands, 
because  his  intellectual  atmosphere  removed  him  far 
from  sympathy  with  many  of  the  truths  which  are 
dearest  to  the  members  of  the  Free  Evangelical 
Churches.  But  none  the  less  we  recognise  in  him  a 
brother  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  rejoice  that  there,  on  the 
high  places  of  a  careless  and  sceptical  generation,  there 
stood  a  Christian  man. 

In  this  connection  I  cannot  but,  though  I  have  no 
right  to  do  so,  express  how  profoundly  thankful  I,  for 
one,  was  to  the  present  Prime  Minister  of  England 
that  in  his  brief  eulogium  on,  I  was  going  to  say,  his 
great  rival,  he  ended  all  by  the  emphatic  declaration 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  was,  first  and  foremost,  a  great 
Christian  man.  Yes;  and  there  was  the  secret,  as  I 
have  already  said,  not  of  his  merely  political  eminence, 
but  of  the  universal  reverence  which  a  nation  expresses 
to-day.    All  detraction  is  silenced,  and  all  calumnies 


V.  21]         THE  IDEAL  STATESMAN  95 

have  dropped  away,  as  filth  from  the  white  wings  of  a 
swan  as  it  soars,  and  with  one  voice  the  Empire  and 
the  world  confess  that  he  was  a  great  and  a  good  man. 

I  need  not  dwell  in  detail  on  the  thoughts  of  how,  by- 
reason  of  this  deep  underlying  fear  of  God,  the  other 
qualifications  which  are  sketched  in  our  ideal  found 
their  realisation  in  him;  how  those  who,  all  through 
his  career,  smiled  most  at  the  successive  enthusiasms 
which  monopolised  his  mind,  and  sometimes  at  the 
contrasts  between  these,  are  now  ready  to  admit  that, 
whether  the  enthusiasms  were  right  or  wrong,  there  is 
something  noble  in  the  spectacle  of  a  man  ever  keeping 
his  mind,  even  when  its  windows  were  beginning  to  be 
dimmed  by  the  frosts  of  age,  open  to  the  beams  of  new 
truth.  And  the  greatest,  as  some  people  think,  of  his 
political  blunders,  as  we  are  beginning,  all  of  us,  to 
recognise,  now  that  party  strife  is  hushed,  was  the 
direct  consequence  of  that  ever  fresh  and  youthful 
enthusiasm  for  new  thoughts  and  new  lines  of  action. 
Innovators  aged  eighty  are  not  too  numerous. 

Nor  need  I  say  more  than  one  word  about  the  other 
part  of  the  ideal,  •  hating  covetousness.'  The  giver  of 
peerages  by  the  bushel  died  a  commoner.  The  man 
that  had  everything  at  his  command  made  no  money, 
nor  anything  else,  out  of  his  long  years  of  office, 
except  the  satisfaction  of  having  been  permitted  to 
render  what  he  believed  to  be  the  highest  of  service  to 
the  nation  that  he  loved  so  well.  Like  our  whilom 
neighbour,  the  other  great  commoner,  John  Bright,  he 
lived  among  his  own  people ;  and  like  Samuel,  of  whom 
I  have  already  spoken,  he  could  stretch  out  his  old  hands 
and  say,  '  They  are  clean.'  One  scarcely  feels  as  if,  to 
such  a  life,  a  State  funeral  in  Westminster  Abbey  was 
congruous.    One  had  rather  have  seen  him  laid  among 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xviii. 

the  humble  villagers  who  were  his  friends  and  com- 
panions, and  in  the  quiet  churchyard  which  his  steps 
had  so  often  traversed.  But  at  all  events  the  ideal 
was  realised,  and  we  all  know  what  it  was. 

Might  I  say  one  word  more?  As  this  great  figure 
passes  out  of  men's  sight  to  nobler  work,  be  sure,  on 
widened  horizons  corresponding  to  his  tutored  and 
exercised  powers,  does  he  leave  no  lessons  behind  for 
us?  He  leaves  one  very  plain,  homely  one,  and  that 
is,  'Work  while  it  is  called  to-day.'  No  opulence  of 
endowment  tempted  this  man  to  indolence,  and  no 
poverty  of  endowment  will  excuse  us  for  sloth.  Work 
is  the  law  of  our  lives ;  and  the  more  highly  we  are 
gifted,  the  more  are  we  bound  to  serve. 

He  leaves  us  another  lesson.  Follow  convictions  as 
they  open  before  you,  and  never  think  that  you  have 
done  growing,  or  have  reached  your  final  stage. 

He  leaves  another  lesson.  Do  not  suppose  that  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  satisfy  the  keenest 
intellect,  nor  dominate  the  strongest  will.  It  has  come 
to  be  a  mark  of  narrowness  and  fossilhood  to  be  a 
devout  believer  in  Christ  and  His  Cross.  Some  of  you 
young  men  make  an  easy  reputation  for  cleverness 
and  advanced  thought  by  the  short  and  simple  process 
of  disbelieving  what  your  mother  taught  you.  Here  is 
a  man,  probably  as  great  as  you  are,  with  as  keen  an 
intellect,  and  he  clung  to  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  had 
for  his  favourite  hymn — 

*  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee.* 

He  leaves  another  lesson.  If  you  desire  to  make  your 
characters  all  that  it  is  in  them  to  be  made,  you  must, 
like  him,  go  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  get  your  teaching  and 


V.  21]  THE  DECALOGUE :  I.  97 

your  inspiration  from  that  great  Lord.  We  cannot  all 
be  great  men.  Never  mind.  It  is  character  that  tells ; 
we  can  all  be  good  men,  and  we  can  all  be  Christian 
men.  And  whether  we  build  cottages  or  palaces,  if  we 
build  on  one  foundation,  and  only  if  we  do,  they  will 
stand. 

Moses  leaves  another  lesson,  as  he  glides  into  the  past. 
'  This  man,  having  served  his  generation  by  the  will  of 
God,  fell  on  sleep,  and  was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  and 
saw  corruption';  but  He  'whom  God  hath  raised  up 
saw  no  corruption.'  The  lamps  are  quenched,  the  sun 
shines.  Moses  dies,  '  The  prophets,  do  they  live  for 
ever?'  but  when  Moses  and  Elias  faded  from  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  'the  apostles  saw  no  man 
any  more,  save  Jesus  only,'  and  the  voice  said,  «This 
is  My  beloved  Son ;  hear  ye  Him.' 


THE  DECALOGUE :  I— MAN  AND  GOD 

'  And  God  spake  all  these  words,  saying,    2.  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  have 
brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage.    3.  Thou  shalt   > 
have  no  other  gods  before  me.    4.  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  ':. 
image,  or  any  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  the  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the 
earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth :    5.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  J 
down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them :  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous 
God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  me ;    6.  And  shewing  mercy  unto  thousands 
of  them  that  love  me,  and  keep  my  commandments.*^.  Thou  shalt  not  take  theAi 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain :  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that 
taketh  his  name  in  vain.    8.  Remember  the  sabbath-day,  to  keep  it  holy.    9.  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labour,  and  do  all  thy  work :     10.  But  the  seventh  day  is  the 
eabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son, 
nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates :  11.  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day :  wherefore  a" 
the  Lord  blessed  the  sabbath-day,  and  hallowed  it.'— Exodus  xx.  1-11. 

An  obscure  tribe  of  Egyptian  slaves  plunges  into  the 
desert  to  hide  from  pursuit,  and  emerges,  after  forty 
years,  with  a  code  gathered  into  '  ten  words,'  so  brief, 
so  complete,  so  intertwining  morality  and  religion,  so 

G 


98  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xx. 

free  from  local  or  national  peculiarities,  so  close  fitting 
to  fundamental  duties,  that  it  is  to-day,  after  more 
than  three  thousand  years,  authoritative  in  the  most 
enlightened  peoples.  The  voice  that  spoke  from  Sinai 
reverberates  in  all  lands.  The  Old  World  had  other 
lawgivers  who  professed  to  formulate  their  precepts  by 
divine  inspiration :  they  are  all  fallen  silent.  But  this 
voice,  like  the  trumpet  on  that  day,  waxes  louder  and 
louder  as  the  years  roll.  Whose  voice  was  it?  The 
only  answer  explaining  the  supreme  purity  of  the 
commandments,  and  their  immortal  freshness,  is  found 
in  the  first  sentence  of  this  paragraph, '  God  spake  all 
these  words.' 

I.  We  have  first  the  revelation,  which  precedes  and 
lays  the  foundation  for  the  commandments  ;  •  I  am  the 
Lord  thy  God,  which  have  brought  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt.'  God  speaks  to  the  nation  as  a  whole, 
establishing  a  special  relation  between  Himself  and 
them,  which  is  founded  on  His  redeeming  act,  and  is 
reciprocal,  requiring  that  they  should  be  His  people,  as 
He  is  their  God.  The  manifestation  in  act  of  His  power 
and  of  His  love  precedes  the  claim  for  reverence  and 
obedience.  This  is  a  universal  truth.  God  gives 
before  He  asks  us  to  give.  He  is  not  a  hard  taskmaster, 
'  gathering  where  He  has  not  strawn.'  Even  in  that 
system  which  is  eminently  *  the  law,'  the  foundation  is 
a  divine  act  of  deliverance,  and  only  when  He  has  won 
the  people  for  Himself  by  redeeming  them  from  bondage 
does  He  call  on  them  for  obedience.  His  rule  is  built 
on  benefits.  He  urges  no  mere  right  of  the  mightier, 
nor  cares  for  service  which  is  not  the  glad  answer  of 
gratitude.  The  flashing  flames  which  ran  as  swift 
heralds  before  His  descending  chariot  wheels,  the 
quaking   mountain,    the    long-drawn    leasts    of    the 


vs.  1-11]         THE  DECALOGUE:  I.  99 

trumpet,  awed  the  gathered  crowd.  But  the  first 
articulate  words  made  a  tenderer  appeal,  and  sought 
to  found  His  right  to  command  on  His  love,  and  their 
duty  to  obey  on  their  gratitude.  The  great  gospel 
principle,  that  the  Redeemer  is  the  lawgiver,  and  the 
redeemed  are  joyful  subjects  because  their  hearts  are 
touched  with  love,  underlies  the  apparently  sterner 
system  of  the  Old  Testament.  God  opens  His  heart 
first,  and  then  asks  for  men's. 

This  prelude  certainly  confines  the  Decalogue  to  the 
people  of  Israel.  Their  deliverance  is  the  ground  on 
which  the  law  is  rested,  therefore,  plainly,  the  obliga- 
tion can  be  no  wider  than  the  benefit.  But  though  we 
are  not  bound  to  obey  any  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 
because  they  were  given  to  Israel,  they  are  all,  with 
one  exception,  demonstrably,  a  transcript  of  laws 
written  on  the  heart  of  mankind ;  and  this  fact  carries 
with  it  a  strong  presumption  that  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath,  which  is  the  exception  referred  to,  should  be 
regarded  as  not  an  exception,  but  as  a  statute  of  the 
primeval  law,  witnessed  to  by  conscience,  republished 
in  wondrous  precision  and  completeness  in  these  vener- 
able precepts.  The  Ten  Commandments  are  binding 
on  us ;  but  they  are  not  binding  as  part,  though  the 
fundamental  part,  of  the  Jewish  law. 

Two  general  observations  may  be  made.  One  is  on 
the  negative  character  of  the  commandments  as  a 
whole.  Law  prohibits  because  men  are  sinful.  But 
prohibitions  pre-suppose  as  their  foundation  positive 
commands.  We  are  forbidden  to  do  something  because 
we  are  inclined  to  do  it,  and  because  we  ought  to  do 
the  opposite.  Every  *  thou  shalt  not '  implies  a  deeper 
'  thou  shalt.'  The  cold  negation  really  rests  on  the  con- 
verse affirmative  command. 


100  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS      [ch.  xx. 

The  second  remark  on  the  law  as  a  whole  is  as  to 
the  relation  which  it  establishes  between  religion  and 
morality,  making  the  latter  a  part  of  the  former,  but 
regarding  it  as  secured  only  by  the  prior  discharge  of 
the  obligations  of  the  former.  Morality  is  the  garb  of 
religion ;  religion  is  the  animating  principle  of  morality. 
The  attempts  to  build  up  a  theory  of  ethics  without 
reference  to  our  relations  to  God,  or  to  secure  the 
practice  of  righteousness  without  such  reference,  or  to 
substitute,  with  a  late  champion  of  unbelief,  '  the  ser- 
vice of  man '  for  the  worship  of  God,  are  all  condemned 
by  the  deeper  and  simpler  wisdom  of  this  law.  Chris- 
tians should  learn  the  lesson,  which  the  most  Jewish 
of  the  New  Testament  writers  had  drawn  from  it,  that 
'pure  and  undefiled  service'  of  God  is  the  service  of 
man,  and  should  beware  of  putting  asunder  what  God 
has  joined  so  closely. 

II.  The  first  commandment  bears  in  its  negative  form 
marks  of  the  condition  of  the  world  when  it  was 
spoken,  and  of  the  strong  temptation  to  polytheism 
which  the  Israelites  were  to  resist.  Everywhere  but 
in  that  corner  among  the  wild  rocks  of  Sinai,  men 
believed  in  •  gods  many.'  Egypt  swarmed  with  them ; 
and,  no  doubt,  the  purity  of  Abraham's  faith  had  been 
sadly  tarnished  in  his  sons.  We  cannot  understand 
the  strange  fascination  of  polytheism.  It  is  a  disease 
of  humanity  in  an  earlier  stage  than  ours.  But  how 
strong  it  was  and  is,  all  history  shows.  All  these 
many  gods  were  on  amicable  terms  with  one  another, 
and  ready  to  welcome  newcomers.  But  the  mono- 
theism, which  was  here  laid  at  the  very  foundation 
of  Israel's  national  life,  parted  it  by  a  deep  gulf  from 
all  the  world,  and  determined  its  history. 

The  prohibition  has  little  force  for  us ;  but  the  posi- 


vs.  1-11]         THE  DECALOGUE:  I.  101 

tive  command  which  underlies  it  is  of  eternal  force. 
We  should  rather  think  of  it  as  a  revelation  and  an 
invitation  than  as  a  mere  command.  For  what  is  it 
but  the  declaration  that  at  the  centre  of  things  is 
throned,  not  a  rabble  of  godlings,  nor  a  stony  imper- 
sonal somewhat,  nor  a  hypothetical  unknowable  entity, 
nor  a  shadowy  abstraction,  but  a  living  Person,  who 
can  say  '  Me,'  and  whom  we  can  call  on  as  '  Thou,'  and 
be  sure  that  He  hears  ?  No  accumulation  of  finite  ex- 
cellences, however  fair,  can  satisfy  the  imagination, 
which  feels  after  one  Being,  the  personal  ideal  of  all 
perfectness.  The  understanding  needs  one  ultimate 
Cause  on  which  it  can  rest  amid  the  dance  of  fleeting 
phenomena ;  the  heart  cannot  pour  out  its  love  to  be 
shared  among  many.  No  string  of  goodly  pearls  will 
ever  give  the  merchantman  assurance  that  his  quest 
is  complete.  Only  when  human  nature  finds  all  in  One, 
and  that  One  a  living  Person,  the  Lover  and  Friend  of 
all  souls,  does  it  fold  its  wings  and  rest  as  a  bird  after 
long  flight. 

The  first  commandment  enjoins,  or  rather  blesses  us 
by  showing  us  that  we  may  cherish,  supreme  affection, 
worship,  trust,  self-surrender,  aspiration,  towards  one 
God.  After  all,  our  God  is  that  which  we  think  most 
precious,  for  which  we  are  ready  to  make  the  greatest 
sacrifices,  which  draws  our  warmest  love ;  which,  lost, 
would  leave  us  desolate;  which,  possessed,  makes  us 
blessed.  If  we  search  our  hearts  with  this  *  candle  of 
the  Lord,'  we  shall  find  many  an  idol  set  up  in  their 
dark  corners,  and  be  startled  to  discover  how  much  we 
need  to  bring  ourselves  to  be  judged  and  condemned 
by  this  commandment.  It  is  the  foundation  of  all 
human  duty.  Obedience  to  it  is  the  condition  of  peace 
and  blessedness,  light  and  leading  for  mind,  heart,  will, 


102  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xx. 

affections,  desires,  hopes,  fears,  and  all  the  world 
within,  that  longs  for  one  living  Person  even  when  it 
least  knows  the  meaning  of  its  longings  and  the  reason 
of  its  unrest. 

III.  The  second  commandment  forbids  all  representa- 
tions, whether  of  the  one  God  or  of  false  deities.  The 
golden  calf,  which  was  a  symbol  of  Jehovah,  is  con- 
demned equally  with  the  fair  forms  that  haunted  the 
Greek  Olympus,  or  the  half -bestial  shapes  of  Egyptian 
mythology.  The  reasons  for  the  prohibition  may  be 
considered  as  two, — the  impossibility  of  setting  forth 
the  glory  of  the  Infinite  Spirit  in  any  form,  and  the 
certainty  that  the  attempt  will  sink  the  worshipper 
deeper  in  the  mire  of  sense.  An  image  degrades  God 
and  damages  men.  By  it  religion  reverses  its  nature, 
and  becomes  another  clog  to  keep  the  soul  among  the 
things  seen,  and  an  ally  of  all  fleshly  inclinations.  We 
know  how  idolatry  seemed  to  cast  a  spell  over  the 
Israelites  from  Egypt  to  Babylon,  and  how  their  first 
relapse  into  it  took  place  almost  before  the  voice  which 
•  spake  all  these  words '  had  ceased. 

In  its  grosser  form,  we  have  no  temptation  to  it. 
But  there  are  other  ways  of  breaking  the  command- 
ment than  setting  up  an  image.  All  sensuous  worship 
in  which  the  treacherous  aid  of  art  is  called  in  to 
elevate  the  soul,  comes  perilously  near  to  contradicting 
its  spirit,  if  not  its  letter.  The  attempt  to  make  of  the 
senses  a  ladder  for  the  soul  to  climb  to  God  by,  is  a 
great  deal  more  likely  to  end  in  the  soul's  going  down 
the  ladder  than  up  it.  The  history  of  public  worship 
in  the  Christian  Church  teaches  that  the  less  it  has  to 
do  with  such  slippery  help  the  better.  There  is  a  strong 
current  running  in  England,  at  all  events,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  bringing  in  a  more  artistic,  or,  as  it  is  called,  a 


vs.  1-11]         THE  DECALOGUE:  I.  103 

'  less  bare,'  form  of  service.  We  need  to  remember  tbat 
the  God  w^ho  is  a  Spirit  is  worshipped  '  in  spirit,'  and 
that  outward  forms  may  easily  choke,  and  outward  aids 
hinder,  that  worship. 

The  especial  difficulty  of  obedience  to  this  command- 
ment is  marked  by  the  reason  or  sanction  annexed. 
That  opens  a  wide  field,  on  which  it  would  be  folly  to 
venture  here.  There  is  a  glimpse  of  God's  character, 
and  a  statement  of  a  law  of  His  working.  He  is  a 
'  jealous '  God.  We  need  not  be  afraid  of  the  word.  It 
means  nothing  but  what  is  congruous  with  the  loftiest 
conception  of  a  loving  God.  It  means  that  He  allows  of 
no  rival  in  our  hearts'  affection,  or  in  our  submission 
for  love's  sake  to  Him.  A  half  trust  in  God  is  no  trust. 
How  can  worship  be  shared,  or  love  be  parted  out, 
among  a  pantheon?  Our  poor  hearts  ask  of  one 
another  and  get  from  one  another,  wherever  a  man 
and  a  woman  truly  love,  just  what  God  asks, — '  All  in 
all,  or  not  at  all.'  His  jealousy  is  but  infinite  love 
seeking  to  be  known  as  such,  and  asking  for  a  whole 
heart. 

The  law  of  His  providence  sounds  hard,  but  it  is 
nothing  more  than  stating  in  plain  words  the  course 
of  the  world's  history,  which  cannot  be  otherwise  if 
there  is  to  be  any  bond  of  human  society  at  all.  We 
hear  a  great  deal  in  modern  language  about  solidarity 
(and  sometimes  it  is  spelled  with  a  final  'e,'  to  look 
more  philosophical)  and  heredity.  The  teaching  of  this 
commandment  is  simply  a  statement  of  the  same  facts, 
with  the  addition  that  the  Lawgiver  is  visible  behind 
the  law.  The  consequences  of  conduct  do  not  die  with 
the  doers.  'The  evil  that  men  do,  lives  after  them.' 
The  generations  are  so  knit  together,  and  the  full 
results  of  deeds  are  often  so  slow-growing,  that  one 


104  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

generation  sows  and  another  reaps.  Who  sowed  the 
seed  that  fruited  in  misery,  and  was  gathered  in  a 
bitter  harvest  of  horrors  and  crimes  in  the  French 
Revolution  ?  Who  planted  the  tree  under  which  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  sit  ?  Did  not  the  seedling 
go  over  in  the  Mayflower'^  As  long  as  the  genera- 
tions of  men  are  more  closely  connected  than  those  of 
sheep  or  birds,  this  solemn  word  must  be  true.  Let  us 
see  that  we  sow  no  tares  to  poison  our  children  when 
we  are  in  our  graves.  The  sajdng  had  immediate 
application  to  the  consequences  of  idolatry  in  the 
history  of  Israel,  and  was  a  forecast  of  their  future. 
But  it  is  true  evermore  and  everywhere. 

IV.  The  third  commandment  must  be  so  understood 
as  to  bring  it  into  line  with  the  two  preceding,  as  of 
equal  breadth  and  equally  fundamental.  It  cannot, 
therefore,  be  confined  to  the  use  of  the  name  of  God  in 
oaths,  whether  false  or  trivial.  No  doubt,  perjury  and 
profane  swearing  are  included  in  the  sweep  of  the  pro- 
hibition ;  but  it  reaches  far  beyond  them.  The  name 
of  God  is  the  declaration  of  His  being  and  character. 
We  take  His  name  'in  vain'  when  we  speak  of  Him  un- 
worthily. Many  a  glib  and  formal  prayer,  many  a 
mechanical  or  self -glorifying  sermon,  many  an  erudite 
controversy,  comes  under  the  lash  of  this  prohibition. 
Professions  of  devotion  far  more  fervid  than  real,  con- 
fessions in  which  the  conscience  is  not  stricken,  ortho- 
dox teachings  with  no  throb  of  life  in  them,  unconscious 
hypocrisies  of  worship,  and  much  besides,  are  gibbeted 
here.  The  most  vain  of  all  words  are  those  which  have 
become  traditional  stock  in  trade  for  religious  people, 
which  once  expressed  deep  convictions,  and  are  now  a 
world  too  wide  for  the  shrunk  faith  which  wears  them. 

The   positive  side  underlying   the   negative    is    the 


vs.  1-11]         THE  DECALOGUE :  I.  105 

requirement  that  our  speech  of  God  shall  fit  our 
thought  of  God,  and  our  thought  of  Him  shall  fit  His 
Name ;  that  our  words  shall  mirror  our  ajffections,  and 
our  affection  be  a  true  reflection  of  His  beauty  and 
sweetness ;  that  cleansed  lips  shall  reverently  utter  the 
Name  above  every  name,  which,  after  all  speech,  must 
remain  unspoken ;  and  that  we  shall  feel  it  to  be  not 
the  least  wonderful  or  merciful  of  His  condescensions 
that  He  '  is  extolled  with  our  tongues.' 

V.  The  series  of  commandments  referring  to  Israel's 
relations  with  God  is  distinctly  progressive  from  the 
first  to  the  fourth,  which  deals  with  the  Sabbath.  The 
fact  that  it  appears  here,  side  by  side  with  these  abso- 
lutely universal  and  first  principles  of  religion  and 
worship,  clearly  shows  that  the  giver  of  the  code 
regarded  it  as  of  equal  comprehensiveness.  If  we 
believe  that  the  giver  of  the  code  was  God,  we  seem 
shut  up  to  the  conclusion  that,  though  the  Sabbath  is 
a  positive  institution,  and  in  so  far  unlike  the  preceding 
commandments,  it  is  to  be  taken  as  not  merely  a 
temporary  or  Jewish  ordinance.  The  ground  on  which 
it  is  rested  here  points  to  the  same  conclusion.  The 
version  of  the  Decalogue  in  Deuteronomy  bases  it  on 
the  Egyptian  deliverance,  but  this,  on  the  divine  rest 
after  creation.  As  we  have  already  said,  we  do  not 
regard  the  Decalogue  as  binding  on  us  because  given  to 
Israel ;  but  we  do  regard  it  as  containing  laws  univers- 
ally binding,  which  are  written  by  God's  finger,  not  on 
tables  of  stone,  but  on  '  the  fleshly  tables  of  the  heart.' 
All  the  others  are  admittedly  of  this  nature.  Is  not 
the  Sabbath  law  likewise  ?  It  is  not,  indeed,  inscribed 
on  the  conscience,  but  is  the  need  for  it  not  stamped  on 
the  physical  nature?  The  human  organism  requires 
the  seventh-day  rest,  whether  men  toil  with  hand  or 


106  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

brain.  Historically,  it  is  not  true  that  the  Sabbath  waa 
founded  by  this  legislation.  The  traces  of  its  observ- 
ance in  Genesis  are  few  and  doubtful;  but  we  know 
from  the  inscriptions  that  the  seventh,  fourteenth, 
twenty-first,  and  twenty-eighth  days  of  the  moon  were 
set  apart  by  the  Assyrians,  and  scholars  can  supply 
other  instances.  The  'Remember'  of  this  command- 
ment can  scarcely  be  urged  as  establishing  this,  for  it 
may  quite  as  naturally  be  explained  to  mean  '  Remem- 
ber, as  each  successive  seventh  day  comes  round,  to 
consecrate  it.'  But  apart  from  that,  the  law  written 
on  body,  mind,  and  soul  says  plainly  to  all  men, '  Rest 
on  the  seventh  day.'  Body  and  mind  need  repose ;  the 
soul  needs  quiet  communion  with  God.  No  vigorous 
physical,  intellectual,  or  religious  life  will  long  be  kept 
up,  if  that  need  be  disregarded.  The  week  was  meant 
to  be  given  to  work,  which  is  blessed  and  right  if  done 
after  the  pattern  of  God's.  The  Sabbath  was  meant  to 
lift  to  a  share  in  His  rest,  to  bring  eternity  into  time, 
to  renew  wasted  strength  *  by  a  wise  passiveness,'  and 
to  draw  hearts  dissipated  by  contact  with  fleeting 
tasks  back  into  the  stillness  where  they  can  find  them- 
selves in  fellowship  with  God. 

We  have  not  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  nor  is  it  binding 
on  us.  But  as  men  we  ought  to  rest,  and  resting,  to 
worship,  on  one  day  in  the  week.  The  unwritten  law 
of  Christianity,  moulding  all  outward  forms  by  its  own 
free  spirit,  gradually,  and  without  premeditation,  slid 
from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day,  as  it  had  clear  right 
to  do.  It  was  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection,  probably 
of  His  ascension,  and  of  Pentecost.  It  is  'the  Lord's 
Day.'  In  observing  it,  we  unite  both  the  reasons  for 
the  Sabbath  given  in  Exodus  and  Deuteronomy, — the 
completion  of  a  higher  creation  in  the  resurrection  rest 


vs.  1-11]       THE  DECALOGUE:  11.  107 

of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  deliverance  from  a  sorer 
bondage  by  a  better  Moses.  The  Christian  Sunday  and 
its  religious  observance  are  indispensable  to  the  reli- 
gious life  of  individuals  and  nations.  The  day  of  rest 
is  indispensable  to  their  well-being.  Our  hard-working 
millions  will  bitterly  rue  their  folly,  if  they  are  tempted 
to  cast  it  away  on  the  plea  of  obtaining  opportunities 
for  intellectual  culture  and  enjoyment.     It  is 

'  The  couch  of  time,  care's  balm  and  bay,' 

and  we  shall  be  wise  if  we  hold  fast  by  it ;  not  because 
the  Jews  were  bid  to  hallow  the  seventh  day,  but 
because  we  need  it  for  repose,  and  we  need  it  for 
religion. 


THE  DECALOGUE:  II.— MAN  AND  MAN 

'Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother;  that  thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.  13.  Thou  ahalt  not  kill.  14.  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery.  15.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  16.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness 
against  thy  neighbour.  17.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  house,  thou  shalt 
not  covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  nor  his  man-servant,  nor  his  maid-servant,  nor  his 
ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  any  thing  that  is  thy  neighbour's.  18.  And  all  the  people  saw 
the  thunderings  and  the  lightnings,  and  the  noise  of  the  trumpet,  and  the  mountain 
smoking ;  and,  when  the  people  saw  it,  they  removed,  and  stood  afar  off.  19.  And 
they  said  unto  Moses,  Speak  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  hear :  but  let  not  God  speak 
with  us,  lest  we  die.  20.  And  Moses  said  unto  the  people.  Fear  not :  for  God  is 
come  to  prove  you,  and  that  His  fear  may  be  before  your  faces,  that  ye  sin  not. 
21.  And  the  people  stood  afar  off:  and  Moses  drew  near  unto  the  thick  darkness 
where  God  was.'— Exodus  xx.  12-21. 

I.  The  broad  distinction  between  the  two  halves  of 
the  Decalogue  is  that  the  former  deals  with  man's 
relations  to  God,  and  the  latter  with  His  relations  to 
men.  This  double  division  is  recognised  in  the  New 
Testament  summary  of  *  all  the  law,'  as  found  in  two 
commandments,  and  is  probably  implied  in  the  two 
tables  on  which  it  was  inscribed.  Commentators  have 
been  much  exercised,  however,  about  how  to  divide  the 
commandments  between  these  two  parts.     The  fifth. 


108  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

whicli  IS  the  first  in  this  division,  belongs  in  substance  to 
the  second  half,  but  its  form  connects  it  with  the  first 
table.  It  is  like  the  preceding  ones  in  having  a  reason 
appended,  and  in  naming  'the  Lord  thy  God';  while 
the  following  are  all  bare,  curt  prohibitions.  The  fact 
seems  to  be  that  it  is  a  transition  commandment,  and 
meant  to  cast  special  sacredness  round  the  parental 
relationship,  by  paralleling  it,  in  some  sense,  with  that 
to  God,  of  which  it  is  a  reflection.  Other  duties  to 
other  men  stand  on  a  different  level  from  duties  to 
parents.  *  Honour,'  which  is  to  be  theirs,  is  not  remote 
from  the  reverence  due  to  God.  They  are,  as  it  were, 
His  shadows  to  the  child.  The  fatherhood  of  God  is 
dimly  revealed  in  that  parting  off  the  commandment 
from  the  second  table,  and  assimilating  it  in  form  to 
the  laws  of  the  first. 

II.  The  connection  of  the  two  halves  of  the  Decalogue 
teaches  some  important  truth.  Josephus  said  a  wise 
thing  when  he  remarked  that,  'whereas  other  legislators 
had  made  religion  a  department  of  virtue,  Moses  made 
virtue  a  department  of  religion.'  No  theory  of  morals 
is  built  upon  the  deepest  foundation  which  does  not 
recognise  the  final  ground  of  the  obligation  of  duty  in 
the  voice  of  God.  Duty  is  dehitum — debt.  Who  is  the 
creditor?  Myself?  An  impersonal  law?  Society? 
No,  God.  The  practice  of  morality  depends,  like  its 
theory,  on  religion.  In  the  long-run,  and  on  the  wide 
scale,  nations  and  periods  which  have  lost  the  latter 
will  not  long  keep  the  former  in  any  vigour  or  purity. 
He  who  begins  by  erasing  the  first  commandment  will 
sooner  or  later  make  a  clean  sweep  of  all  the  ten.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  wherever  there  is  true  worship  of 
the  one  God,  there  all  fair  charities  between  man  and 
man  will  flourish  and  fruit.      The  two  tables  are  one 


vs.  12-21]       THE  DECALOGUE:  II.  109 

law.    Duties  to  God  come  first,  and  those  to  man,  who 
is  made  in  the  image  of  God,  flow  from  these. 

III.  The  order  of  these  human  duties  is  significant. 
We  have,  next  after  the  law  of  parental  reverence, 
three  commandments,  which,  in  a  descending  series  of 
importance,  forbid  crimes  against  life,  marriage,  and 
property.  Then  the  law  passes  from,  deeds  to  the  more 
subtle,  and,  as  men  think,  less  grave,  offences  of  the 
tongue.  Next  it  crosses  the  boundary  which  divides 
human  from  divine  law,  and  crimes  from  sins,  to  take 
cognisance  of  unspoken  and  unacted  desires.  So  the 
order  of  progress  in  the  first  table  is  exactly  the  reverse 
of  that  in  the  second.  There  we  begin  with  inward 
devotion,  and  travel  outwards  by  deed  and  word  to  the 
sabbatical  institution;  here  we  begin  with  overt  acts, 
and  travel  inwards,  through  words,  to  the  hidden  desire. 
The  end  touches  the  beginning.  For  that  which  we 
'  covet '  is  our  God  ;  and  the  first  commandment  is  only 
obeyed  when  our  hearts  hunger  after  Him,  and  not 
after  earth.  The  sequence  here  corresponds  to  the 
order  of  progress  in  our  knowledge  and  practice  of  our 
human  duties.  The  first  thing  that  the  rudest  state  of 
society  has  to  do  is  to  establish  some  kind  of  security 
for  life  and  property  and  woman's  honour.  The  worst 
men  know  that  much  as  their  duty,  however  foul  may 
be  their  lips,  and  hot  their  passions.  Then  the 
recognition  of  the  sanctity  of  the  great  gift  of  speech, 
and  the  supreme  obligations  of  veracity,  grow  upon 
men  as  they  get  above  the  earlier  stage.  Most  children 
pass  through  a  phase  when  they  tell  lies  as  pastime, 
and  most  rude  societies  and  half -moralised  men  have  a 
similar  epoch.  Last  of  all,  when  actions  have  been 
bridled  and  the  tongue  taught  the  law  of  truth,  comes 
the  full  recognition  that  the  work  is  not  done  till  the 


110  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

silent  longing  of  a  hungry  heart  is  stilled,  and  that 
unselfish  love  of  our  neighbour  is  only  perfect  when  we 
can  rejoice  in  his  good  and  wish  none  of  it  for  ourselves. 
The  second  table  is  a  chart  of  moral  progress. 

lY.  The  scope  of  these  laws  has  often  been  violently 
stretched  so  as  to  include  all  human  duty ;  but  without 
tugging  at  them  so  as  to  make  them  cover  everything, 
we  may  note  briefly  how  far  they  extend.  We  are 
scarcely  warranted  in  taking  any  of  them  but  the  last, 
as  going  deeper  than  overt  acts,  for,  though  our  Lord 
has  taught  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  that  hatred  is 
murder,  and  impure  desire  adultery,  that  is  His  deepen- 
ing of  the  commandment.  But  it  is  quite  fair  to  bring 
out  the  positive  precept  which,  in  each  case,  underlies 
the  stern,  short  prohibition. 

The  fifth  commandment  shares  with  the  fourth  the 
distinction  of  being  a  positive  command.  It  enjoins 
*  honour,*  not  *  love,'  partly  because,  in  olden  times,  the 
father  was  a  prince  in  his  house  in  a  sense  that  has  long 
since  ceased  to  be  true,  partly  because  there  was  less 
need  to  enjoin  the  affection  which  is  in  some  degree 
instinctive,  than  the  submission  and  respect  which  the 
children  are  tempted  to  withhold,  partly  in  order  to 
suggest  the  analogy  with  reverence  to  God.  A  strange 
change  has  passed  over  the  relations  of  parents  and 
children,  even  within  a  generation.  There  is  more, 
perhaps,  of  frank  familiar  intercourse,  which,  no  doubt, 
is  an  improvement  on  the  old  style.  But  there  is  a 
great  deal  less  of  what  the  commandment  enjoins. 
City  life,  education,  the  general  impairing  of  the  idea 
of  authority,  which  we  see  everywhere,  have  told  upon 
many  families  ;  and  many  a  father  who,  by  indulgence 
or  by  too  much  engrossment  in  business,  lets  the  chil- 
dren twitch  the  reins  out  of  his  hands,  might  lament, 


vs.  12-21]      THE  DECALOGUE :  11.  Ill 

as  his  grown-up  children  spurn  control,  'If  then  I  be 
a  father,  where  is  mine  honour  ? '  There  is  no  one  of 
the  commandments  which  it  is  more  needful  to  preach 
in  England  than  this. 

The  promise  attached  to  it  has  another  side  of 
threatening.  It  is  a  plain  fact  that  when  the  paternal 
relation  is  corrupted,  a  powerful  solvent  has  been 
introduced  which  rapidly  tends  to  disintegrate  society. 
The  most  ancient  empire  in  the  world  to-day,  China,  has, 
amid  many  vices  and  follies,  been  preserved  mainly  by 
the  profound  reverence  to  ancestors  which  is  largely 
its  real  working  religion.  The  most  vigorous  power  in 
the  old  world,  Rome,  owed  its  iron  might  not  only  to 
its  early  simplicity  of  life  and  its  iron  tenacity,  but  to 
the  strength  of  paternal  authority  and  the  willingness 
of  filial  obedience.  No  more  serious  damage  can  be 
inflicted  on  society  or  on  individuals  than  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  honour  paid  to  fathers  and  mothers. 

•  Thou  shalt  not  kill '  forbids  not  only  the  act  of 
murder,  but  all  that  endangers  life.  It  enjoins  all  care, 
diligence,  and  effort  to  preserve  it.  A  man  who  looks 
on  while  another  drowns,  or  who  sends  a  ship  out  half 
manned  and  overloaded,  breaks  it  as  really  as  a  red- 
handed  murderer.  But  the  commandment  was  not 
intended  to  touch  the  questions  of  capital  punishment 
or  of  war.  These  were  allowed  under  the  Jewish  code, 
and  cannot  therefore  be  supposed  to  be  prohibited  here. 
How  far  either  is  consistent  with  the  deepest  meaning 
of  the  law,  as  expanded  and  reconsecrated  in  Christi- 
anity, is  another  question.  Their  defenders  have  to 
execute  some  startling  feats  of  gymnastics  to  harmonise 
either  with  the  New  Testament. 

'  Curua  kind  o'  Christian  dooty, 
This  'ere  cuttin'  folks's  throats.' 


112  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

The  ground  of  the  commandment  is  not  given,  seeing 
that  conscience  is  expected  to  admit  its  force  as  soon 
as  stated.  But  its  place  at  the  head  of  the  second  table 
brings  it  into  connection  with  the  first  commandment, 
and  suggests  that  man's  life  is  sacred  because  he  is  the 
image  of  God.  As  Christians,  we  are  bound  to  interpret 
it  on  the  lines  which  Christ  has  laid  down ;  according 
to  which,  hatred  is  murder,  and  love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
this  as  of  all  other  laws.  So  Luther's  comprehensive 
summing  up  of  the  duties  enjoined  may  be  accepted: 
'Patience,  gentleness,  kindliness,  peaceableness,  pity, 
and,  of  all  things,  a  sweet,  friendly  heart,  without  any 
hate,  anger,  bitterness,  toward  any,  even  enemies.' 

In  like  manner,  the  seventh  commandment  sanctifies 
wedded  life,  and  is  the  first  step  in  that  true  reverence 
of  woman  which  marked  the  Jewish  people  through  all 
their  history,  and  was  in  such  contrast  to  her  position 
in  all  other  ancient  societies.  Purity  in  all  the  relations 
of  the  sexes,  the  control  of  passion,  the  reverence  for 
marriage,  are  subjects  difficult  to  speak  of  in  public. 
But  modern  society  sorely  needs  some  plain  speaking 
on  these  subjects — abundance  of  bread  and  idleness, 
facilities  for  divorce,  the  filth  which  newspapers  lay 
down  on  every  breakfast-table,  the  insidious  sensuality 
of  much  fiction  and  art,  the  licence  of  the  stage.  The 
opportunities  for  secret  profligacy  in  great  cities  con- 
spire to  loosen  the  bonds  of  morality.  I  would  venture 
to  ask  public  teachers  seriously  to  consider  their  duty 
in  this  matter,  and  to  seek  for  opportunities  wisely  to 
warn  budding  youth  of  the  pitfalls  in  its  path. 

What  is  'stealing'?  As  Luther  says,  'It  is  the 
smallest  part  of  the  thieves  that  are  hung.  If  we  are 
to  hang  them  all,  where  shall  we  get  rope  enough? 
We  must  make  all  our  belts  and  straps  into  halters.' 


vs.  12-21]      THE  DECALOGUE :  II.  113 

Theft  is  the  taking  or  keeping  what  is  not  *  mine.'  But 
what  do  we  mean  by  *  mine '  ?  Communists  tell  us  that 
'  property  is  theft.'  But  that  is  the  exaggeration  of  the 
scriptural  teaching  that  all  property  is  trust  property, 
that  possessions  are  'mine'  on  conditions  and  for 
purposes,  that  I  cannot  *  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own,' 
but  am  a  steward,  set  to  dispense  it  to  those  who  want. 
The  Christian  doctrine  of  stewardship  extends  this 
commandment  over  much  ground  which  we  seldom 
think  of  as  affected  by  it.  All  sharp  practice  in  busi- 
ness, the  shopkeeper's  false  weights  and  the  merchant's 
equivalents  of  these,  adulterations,  pirating  trade- 
marks, imitating  a  rival's  goods,  infringing  patents, 
and  the  like,  however  disguised  by  fine  names,  are 
neither  more  nor  less  than  stealing.  Many  a  prosper- 
ous gentleman  says  solemnly  every  Sunday  of  his  life, 
•  Incline  our  hearts  to  keep  this  law,'  who  would  have 
to  live  in  a  much  more  modest  fashion  if  his  prayer 
were,  by  any  unfortunate  accident,  answered. 

False  witness  is  not  only  given  in  court.  The  sins 
of  the  tongue  against  the  law  of  love  are  more  subtle 
and  common  than  those  of  act.  'Come,  let  us  enjoy 
ourselves,  and  abuse  our  neighbours,'  is  the  real 
meaning  of  many  an  invitation  to  social  intercourse. 
If  some  fairy  could  treat  our  newspapers  as  the  Russian 
censors  do,  and  erase  all  the  lies  about  the  opposite  side, 
which  they  report  and  coin,  how  many  blank  columns 
there  would  bel  If  all  the  words  of  ill-natured 
calumny,  of  uncharitable  construction  of  their  friends, 
which  people  speak,  could  be  made  inaudible,  what 
stretches  of  silence  would  open  out  in  much  animated 
talk!  'A  man  that  beareth  false  witness  against  his 
neighbour  is  a  maul,  and  a  sword,  and  a  sharp  arrow.* 

But  deed  and  word  will  not  be  right  unless  the  heart 

H 


114  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xx. 

be  right;  and  the  heart  will  be  wrong  unless  it  be 
purged  of  the  bitter  black  drop  of  covetousness.  The 
desire  to  make  my  neighbour's  goods  mine  is  the  parent 
of  all  breaches  of  neighbourly  duty,  even  as  its  converse 
'  love '  is  the  fulfilling  of  it  all ;  for  such  desire  implies 
that  I  am  ruled  by  selfishness,  and  that  I  would 
willingly  deprive,  another  of  goods,  for  my  own  grati- 
fication. Such  a  temper,  like  a  wild  boar  among 
vineyards,  will  trample  down  all  the  rich  clusters  in 
order  to  slake  its  own  thirst.  Find  a  man  who  yields 
to  his  desires  after  his  neighbour's  goods,  and  you  find 
a  man  who  will  break  all  commandments  like  a  hornet 
in  a  spider's  web.  Be  he  a  Napoleon,  and  glorified  as  a 
conqueror  and  hero,  or  be  he  some  poor  thief  in  a  jail, 
he  has  let  his  covetousness  get  the  upper  hand,  and  so 
all  wrong-doing  is  possible.  Nor  is  it  only  the  second 
table  which  covetousness  dashes  to  fragments.  It 
serves  the  first  in  the  same  fashion ;  for,  as  St.  Paul 
puts  it,  the  covetous  man  'is  an  idolater,'  and  is  as 
incapable  of  loving  God  as  of  loving  his  neighbour. 
This  final  commandment,  overleaping  the  boundary 
between  conduct  and  character,  and  carrying  the  light 
of  duty  into  the  dark  places  of  the  heart,  where  deeds 
are  fashioned,  sets  the  whole  flock  of  bats  and  twilight- 
loving  creatures  in  agitation.  It  does  what  is  the 
main  work  of  the  law,  in  compelling  us  to  search  our 
hearts,  and  in  convincing  of  sin.  It  is  the  converse  of 
the  thought  that  all  the  law  is  contained  in  love ;  for 
it  closes  the  list  of  sins  with  one  which  begets  them 
all,  and  points  us  away  from  actions  and  words  which 
are  its  children  to  selfish  desire  as  in  itself  the  trans- 
gression of  all  the  law,  whether  it  be  that  which  pre- 
scribes our  relations  to  God  or  that  which  enjoins  our 
duties  to  man. 


THE  FEAST  OF  INGATHERING  IN  THE 
END  OF  THE  YEAR 

'And  the  feast  of  harvest,  the  first-fruits  of  thy  labours,  which  thou  hast  sown 
in  thy  field :  and  the  feast  of  ingathering,  which  is  in  the  end  of  the  year,  when 
thou  hast  gathered  in  thy  labours  out  of  the  field.'— Exodus  xxiii.  16. 

The  Israelites  seem  to  have  had  a  double  beginning  of 
the  year — one  in  spring,  one  at  the  close  of  harvest; 
or  it  may  only  be  that  here  the  year  is  regarded  from 
the  natural  point  of  view — a  farmer's  year.  This  feast 
was  at  the  gathering  in  of  the  fruits,  which  was  the 
natural  close  of  the  agricultural  year. 

This  festival  of  ingathering  was  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. It  is  remarkable  that  the  three  great  sacred 
festivals,  the  Passover,  Pentecost,  Tabernacles,  had  all 
a  reference  to  agriculture,  though  two  of  them  also 
received  a  reference  to  national  deliverances.  This  fact 
may  show  that  they  were  in  existence  before  Moses, 
and  that  he  simply  imposed  a  new  meaning  on  them. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  I  take  these  words  now  simply  as 
a  starting-point  for  some  thoughts  naturally  suggested 
by  the  period  at  which  we  stand.  We  have  come  to 
the  end  of  another  year — looked  for  so  long,  passed  so 
swiftly,  and  now  seeming  to  have  so  utterly  departed ! 

I  desire  to  recall  to  you  and  to  myself  the  solemn  real 
sense  in  which  for  us  too  the  end  of  the  year  is  a  *  time 
of  ingathering '  and  •  harvest.'  "We  too  begin  the  new 
year  with  the  accumulated  consequences  of  these  past 
days  in  our  '  barns  and  garners.' 

Now,  in  dealing  with  this  thought,  let  me  put  it  in 
two  or  three  forms. 

I.  Think  of  the  past  as  still  living  in  and  shaping 
the  present. 

lU 


116  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [cH.xxm. 

It  IS  a  mere  illusion  of  sense  that  the  past  is  gone 
utterly.  *  Thou  carriest  them  away,  as  with  a  flood.' 
We  speak  of  it  as  irrevocable,  unalterable,  that  dread- 
ful past.  It  is  solemnly  true  that  '  ye  shall  no  more 
return  that  way.' 

But  there  is  a  deeper  truth  in  the  converse  thought 
that  the  apparently  transient  is  permanent,  that 
nothing  human  ever  dies,  that  the  past  is  present. 
*  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth,' — yes,  but  only 
its  petals  drop,  and  as  they  fall,  the  fruit  which  they 
sheltered  swells  and  matures. 

The  thought  of  the  present  as  the  harvest  from  the 
past  brings  out  in  vivid  and  picturesque  form  two 
solemn  truths. 

The  first  is  the  passing  away  of  all  the  external,  but 
of  it  only.  It  has  all  gone  where  the  winter's  cold, 
the  spring  rains,  the  summer's  heats  have  gone.  But 
just  as  these  live  in  the  fruitful  results  that  have 
accrued  from  them,  just  as  the  glowing  sunshine  of 
the  departed  ardent  summer  is  in  the  yellow,  bending 
wheat-ear  or  glows  in  the  cluster,  so,  in  a  very  solemn 
sense,  *  that  which  hath  been  is  now'  in  regard  to  every 
life.  The  great  law  of  continuity  makes  the  present 
the  inheritor  of  the  past.  That  law  operates  in 
national  life,  in  which  national  characteristics  are 
largely  precipitates,  so  to  speak,  from  national  history. 
But  it  works  even  more  energetically,  and  with  yet 
graver  consequences,  in  our  individual  lives.  'The 
child  is  father  of  the  man.'  What  we  are  depends 
largely  on  what  we  have  been,  and  what  we  have  been 
powerfully  acts  in  determining  what  we  shall  be.  Life 
is  a  mystic  chain,  not  a  heap  of  unconnected  links. 

And  there  is  another  very  solemn  way  in  which  the 
past  lives  on  in  each  of  us.  For  not  only  is  our  present 
self  the  direct  descendant  of  our  past  selves,  but  that 


V.  16]        FEAST  OF  INGATHERING         117 

past  still  subsists  in  that  we  are  responsible  for  it,  and 
shall  one  day  have  to  answer  for  it.  The  writer  of 
Ecclesiastes  followed  the  statement  just  now  quoted 
as  to  the  survival  of  the  past,  with  another,  which  is 
impressive  in  its  very  vagueness :  '  God  seeketh  again 
that  which  is  passed  away.' 

So  the  undying  past  lives  in  its  results  in  ourselves, 
and  in  our  being  answerable  for  it  to  God. 

This  metaphor  is  insufficient  in  one  respect.  There 
is  not  one  epoch  for  sowing  and  another  for  reaping, 
but  the  two  processes  are  simultaneous,  and  every 
moment  is  at  once  a  harvest  and  a  seed-time. 

This  fact  masks  the  reality  of  the  reaping  here,  but 
it  points  on  to  the  great  harvest  when  God  shall  say, 
'  Gather  the  wheat  into  My  barns  I ' 

II.  Notice  some  specific  forms  of  this  reaping  and 
ingathering. 

(1)  Memory. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  in  the  future  it  may  embrace 
all  the  life. 

'  Chambers  of  imagery.* 

(2)  Habits  and  character.  Like  the  deposit  of  a  flood. 
•Habitus'  means  clothing,  and  cloth  is  woven  from 
single  threads. 

(3)  Outward  consequences,  position,  reputation,  etc. 

III.  Make  a  personal  reference  to  ourselves. 

What  sort  of  harvest  are  we  carrying  over  from  this 
year  ?  Lay  this  to  heart  as  certain,  that  we  enter  on 
no  new  year — or  new  day — empty-handed,  but  always 
'  bearing  our  sheaves  with  us.'  '  Be  not  deceived !  God 
is  not  mocked.  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap.' 

But  remember,  that  while  this  law  remains,  there  is 
also  the  law  of  forgiveness,  *  Go  in  peace ! '  and  there 
may  be  a  new  beginning,  *  Sin  no  more ! ' 


'THE  LOVE  OF  THINE  ESPOUSALS' 

'And  He  said  unto  Moses,  Come  up  unto  the  Lord,  thou,  and  Aaron,  Nadab 
and  Abihu,  and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel ;  and  worship  ye  afar  off.  2.  And 
Moses  alone  shall  come  near  the  Lord ;  but  they  shall  not  come  nigh,  neither 
shall  the  people  go  up  with  him.  3.  And  Moses  came  and  told  the  people  all  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  judgments :  and  all  the  people  answered  with  one 
voice,  and  said.  All  the  words  which  the  Lord  hath  said  will  we  do.  4.  And 
Moses  wrote  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and 
builded  an  altar  under  the  hill,  and  twelve  pillars,  according  to  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel.  5.  And  he  sent  young  men  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which  offered 
burnt-offerings,  and  sacrificed  peace-offerings  of  oxen  unto  the  Lord.  6.  And 
Moses  took  half  of  the  blood,  and  put  it  in  basons ;  and  half  of  the  blood  he 
sprinkled  on  the  altar.  7.  And  he  took  the  book  of  the  covenant,  and  read  in  the 
audience  of  the  people:  and  they  said.  All  that  the  Lord  hath  said  will  we  do, 
and  be  obedient.  8.  And  Moses  took  the  blood,  and  sprinkled  it  on  the  people, 
and  said.  Behold  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  the  Lord  hath  made  with  you 
concerning  all  these  words.  9.  Then  went  up  Moses  and  Aaron,  Nadab  and 
Abihu,  and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel;  10.  And  they  saw  the  God  of  Israel: 
and  there  was  under  His  feet  as  it  were  a  paved  work  of  a  sapphire-stone,  and 
as  it  were  the  body  of  heaven  in  His  clearness.  11.  And  upon  the  nobles  of  the 
children  of  Israel  He  laid  not  His  hand:  also  they  saw  God,  and  did  eat  and 
drink.  12.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Come  up  to  Me  into  the  mount,  and 
be  there:  and  I  will  give  thee  tables  of  stone,  and  a  law,  and  commandments 
which  I  have  written ;  that  thou  mayest  teach  them.'— ExoBUS  xxiv.  1-12, 

An  effort  is  needed  to  feel  what  a  tremendous  and 
unique  fact  is  narrated  in  these  words.  Next  to  the 
incarnation,  it  is  the  most  wonderful  and  far-reaching 
moment  in  history.  It  is  the  birthday  of  a  nation, 
which  is  God's  son.  It  is  the  foundation  stone  of  all 
subsequent  revelation.  Its  issues  oppress  that  ancient 
people  to-day,  and  its  promises  are  not  yet  exhausted. 
It  is  history,  not  legend,  nor  the  product  of  later  national 
vanity.  Whatever  may  come  of  analysing  'sources'  and 
of  discovering  '  redactors,'  Israel  held  a  relation  to  God 
all  its  own ;  and  that  relation  was  constituted  thus. 

I.  Note  the  preliminaries  of  the  covenant.  The 
chapter  begins  with  the  command  to  Moses  to  come  up 
to  the  mount,  with  Aaron  and  other  representatives 
of  the  people.  But  he  was  already  there  when  the 
command  was  given,  and  a  difficulty  has  been  found 
(or,  shall  we  say,  made)  out  of  this.  The  explanation 
seems  reasonable   and  plain   enough,  that   the   long 

U8 


vs.  1-12]  *LOVE  OF  THINE  ESPOUSALS'    119 

section  extending  from  Exodus  xx.  22,  and  containing 
the  fundamental  laws  as  spoken  by  God,  is  closed  by 
our  verses  1  and  2,  which  imply,  in  the  very  order  to 
Moses  to  come  up  with  his  companions,  that  he  must 
first  go  down  to  bring  them.  God  dismisses  him  as 
a  king  might  end  an  audience  with  his  minister,  by 
bidding  him  return  with  attendants.  The  singular  use 
of  the  third  person  in  reference  to  Moses  in  the  third 
verse  is  not  explained  by  supposing  another  writer; 
for,  whoever  wrote  it,  it  would  be  equally  anomalous. 

So  he  comes  down  from  the  stern  cloud-encircled 
peak  to  that  great  plain  where  the  encampment  lay, 
and  all  eyes  watch  his  descent.  The  people  gather 
round  him,  eager  and  curious.  He  recounts  'all  the 
judgments,'  the  series  of  laws,  which  had  been  lodged  in 
his  mind  by  God,  and  is  answered  by  the  many-voiced 
shout  of  too  swiftly  promised  obedience.  Glance  over 
the  preceding  chapters,  and  you  will  see  how  much 
was  covered  by  *  all  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken.'  Re- 
member that  every  lip  which  united  in  that  lightly 
made  vow  drew  its  last  breath  in  the  wilderness, 
because  of  disobedience,  and  the  burst  of  homage 
becomes  a  sad  witness  to  human  weakness  and  change- 
fulness.  The  glory  of  God  flashed  above  them  on  the 
barren  granite,  the  awful  voice  had  scarcely  died  into 
desert  silence,  nerves  still  tingled  with  excitement, 
and  wills  were  bowed  before  Jehovah,  manifestly  so 
near.  For  a  moment,  the  people  were  ennobled,  and 
obedience  seemed  easy.  They  little  knew  what  they 
were  saying  in  that  brief  spasm  of  devotion.  It  was 
high-water  then,  but  the  tide  soon  turned,  and  all  the 
ooze  and  ugliness,  covered  now,  lay  bare  and  rotting. 
'Better  is  it  that  thou  shouldest  not  vow,  than  that 
thou  shouldest  vow  and  not  pay.'     We  may  take  the 


120  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxiv. 

lesson  to  ourselves,  and  see  to  it  that  emotion  consoli- 
dates into  strenuous  persistency,  and  does  not  die  in 
the  very  excitement  of  the  vow. 

The  pledge  of  obedience  was  needed  before  the 
Covenant  could  be  made,  and,  as  we  shall  find,  was 
reiterated  in  the  very  centre  of  the  ceremonial  rati- 
fication. For  the  present,  it  warranted  Moses  in  pre- 
paring for  the  morrow's  ritual.  His  first  step  was  to 
prepare  a  written  copy  of  the  laws  to  which  the 
people  had  sworn.  Here  we  come  across  an  old,  silenced 
battery  from  which  a  heavy  fire  used  to  be  directed 
against  the  historical  accuracy  of  the  Pentateuch. 
Alphabetic  writing  was  of  a  later  date.  There  could 
not  have  been  a  written  code.  The  statement  was  a 
mere  attempt  of  a  later  age  to  claim  antiquity  for 
comparatively  modern  legislation.  It  was  no  more 
historical  than  similar  traditions  in  other  countries, 
Sibylline  books,  etc.  All  that  is  out  of  court  now. 
Perhaps  some  other  guns  will  be  spiked  in  due  time, 
that  make  a  great  noise  just  at  present.  Then  comes 
the  erection  of  a  rude  altar,  surrounded  by  twelve 
standing  stones,  just  as  on  the  east  of  Jordan  we  may 
yet  see  dolmens  and  menhirs.  The  altar  represents 
the  divine  presence;  and  the  encircling  stones,  Israel 
gathered  around  its  God.  The  group  is  a  memorial  and 
a  witness  to  the  people, — and  a  witness  against  them, 
if  disobedient.  Thus  two  permanent  records  were  pre- 
pared, the  book  and  the  monument.  The  one  which 
seemed  the  more  lasting  has  perished ;  the  more  fragile 
has  endured,  and  will  last  to  the  world's  end. 

II.  Note  the  rite  of  ratification  of  the  covenant.  The 
ceremonial  is  complex  and  significant.  We  need  not 
stay  on  the  mere  picture,  impressive  and,  to  our  eyes, 
strange  as  it  is,  but  rather  seek  to   bring  out   the 


vs.  1-12]  *LOVE  OF  THINE  ESPOUSALS'   121 

meaning  of  these  smoking  offerings,  and  that  blood 
flung  on  the  altar  and  on  the  crowd.  First  came  two 
sorts  of  sacrifices,  offered  not  by  priests,  but  by  selected 
young  men,  probably  one  for  each  tribe,  whose  em- 
ployment in  sacrificial  functions  shows  the  priestly 
character  of  the  whole  nation,  according  to  the  great 
words  of  Exodus  xix.  6.  Burnt-offerings  and  peace- 
offerings  differed  mainly  in  the  use  made  of  the 
sacrifice,  which  was  wholly  consumed  by  fire  in  the 
former,  while  it  was  in  part  eaten  by  the  offerer  in 
the  latter.  The  one  symbolised  entire  consecration; 
the  other,  communion  with  God  on  the  basis  of 
sacrifice.  The  sin-offering  does  not  appear  here,  as 
being  of  later  origin,  and  the  product  of  the  law, 
which  deepened  the  consciousness  of  transgression. 
But  these  sacrifices,  at  the  threshold  of  the  covenant, 
receive  an  expiatory  character  by  the  use  made  of 
the  blood,  and  witness  to  the  separation  between  God 
and  man,  which  renders  amity  and  covenant  friendship 
impossible,  without  a  sacrifice. 

They  must  have  yielded  much  blood.  It  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  corresponding  to  the  two  parties  to 
the  covenant,  like  the  cloven  animals  in  Abraham's 
covenant.  One  half  is  *  sprinkled '  on  the  altar,  or, 
as  the  word  means,  *  swung,' — which  suggests  a  larger 
quantity  and  a  more  vehement  action  than  'sprinkling' 
does.  That  drenching  of  the  altar  with  gore  is  either 
a  piece  of  barbarism  or  a  solemn  symbol  of  the  central 
fact  of  Christianity  no  less  than  of  Judaism,  and  a 
token  that  the  only  footing  on  which  man  can  be 
received  into  fellowship  with  God  is  through  the 
offering  of  a  pure  life,  instead  of  the  sinner,  which, 
accepted  by  God,  covers  or  expiates  sin.  There  can 
be  no  question  that  the  idea  of  expiation  is  at  the  very 


122  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxiv. 

foundation  of  the  Old  Testament  ritual.  It  is  fashion- 
able to  regard  the  expiatory  element  of  Christianity 
as  '  Hebrew  old  clothes,'  but  the  fact  is  the  other  way 
about.  It  is  not  that  Christianity  has  not  been  able 
to  rid  itself  of  a  rude  and  false  conception,  but  that 
*  Judaism '  had  its  sacrifices  appointed  by  God,  in  order 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  true  offering,  which  takes 
away  sin. 

The  expiation  by  blood  having  been  thus  made,  the 
hindrances  to  the  nation's  entering  into  covenant  are 
removed.  Therefore  follows  in  logical  order  the  next 
step,  their  formal  (alas !  how  purely  formal  it  proved 
to  be)  taking  on  themselves  its  obligations.  The 
freshly  written  *  book '  is  produced,  and  read  there,  to 
the  silent  people,  before  the  bloody  altar,  beneath  the 
peak  of  Sinai.  Again  the  chorus  of  assent  from  a 
thousand  throats  echoes  among  the  rocks.  They  accept 
the  conditions.  They  had  done  so  last  night ;  but  this 
is  the  actual  contract  on  their  part,  and  its  place  in  the 
whole  order  of  the  ceremony  is  significant.  It  follows 
expiation,  without  which  man  cannot  enter  into  friend- 
ship with  God,  without  the  acceptance  of  which  man 
will  not  yield  himself  in  obedience.  The  vows  which 
God  approves  are  those  of  men  whose  sins  are  covered. 

The  final  step  was  the  sprinkling  of  the  people  with 
the  blood.  The  division  of  the  blood  into  two  portions 
signifies  that  it  had  an  office  in  regard  to  each  party 
to  the  covenant.  If  it  had  been  possible  to  pour  it  all 
on  the  altar,  and  then  all  on  the  people,  that  would 
have  been  done.  The  separation  into  two  portions 
was  inevitable;  but  in  reality  it  is  the  same  blood 
which,  sprinkled  on  the  altar,  expiates,  and  on  the 
worshipper,  consecrates,  cleanses,  unites  to  God,  and 
brings  into  covenant  with  Him.    Hence  Moses  accom- 


vs.  1-12]  *LOVE  OF  THINE  ESPOUSALS'    123 

panies  the  sprinkling  of  the  people  with  the  explana- 
tion, 'This  is  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  the 
Lord  hath  made  with  you,  upon  all  these  conditions' 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin).  It  ratifies  the  compact  on  both 
sides.  God  '  hath  made '  it,  in  accepting  the  sprinkled 
blood;  they  have  made  it,  in  being  sprinkled  there- 
with. But  while  the  rite  sets  forth  the  great  gospel 
truth  of  expiation,  the  Covenant  moves  within  the 
region  of  law.  It  is  made  'on  the  basis  of  all  these 
words,'  and  is  voidable  by  disobedience.  It  is  the 
Magna  Charta  of  the  nation,  and  its  summing  up  is 
•  this  do,  and  thou  shalt  live.'  Its  promises  are  mainly 
of  outward  guardianship  and  national  blessings.  And 
these  are  suspended  by  it,  as  they  were  in  fact  con- 
tingent, on  the  national  observance  of  the  national  vow. 
The  general  idea  of  a  covenant  is  that  of  a  compact 
between  two  parties,  each  of  whom  comes  under 
obligations  contingent  on  the  other's  discharge  of  his. 
Theologians  have  raised  the  question  whether  God's 
covenant  is  of  this  kind.  Surely  it  is.  His  promises 
to  Israel  had  an  *if,'  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  con- 
ditions necessarily  secured  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promises.  The  ritual  of  the  first  covenant  transcends 
the  strictly  retributive  compact  which  it  ratified,  and 
shadows  a  gospel  beyond  law,  even  the  new  covenant 
which  brings  better  gifts,  and  does  not  turn  on  *do,' 
but  simply  on  the  sprinkling  with  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
The  words  of  Moses  were  widened  to  carry  a  blessing 
beyond  his  thoughts,  which  was  disclosed  when,  in 
an  upper  chamber,  a  dying  man  said  to  the  twelve 
representatives  of  the  true  Israel,  'This  is  the  new 
covenant  in  My  blood,  drink  ye  all  of  it.'  The  blood 
which  Moses  sprinkled  gave  ritual  cleansing,  but  it 
remained  outside  the  man.    The  blood  of  Jesus  gives 


124  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.  xxiv. 

true  purification,  and  passes  into  our  veins  to  become 
our  life.  The  covenant  by  Moses  was  *  do  and  live ' ; 
that  in  Christ  is  'believe  and  live.'  Moses  brought 
commandments,  and  on  them  his  covenant  was  built ; 
Christ  brings  gifts,  and  His  covenant  is  all  promises, 
which  are  ours  on  the  simple  condition  of  taking  them. 
III.  Note  the  vision  and  feast  on  the  basis  of  the 
covenant.  The  little  company  that  climbed  the  moun- 
tain, venturing  within  the  fence,  represented  the  whole 
people.  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  the  destined  priests. 
The  elders  were  probably  seventy,  because  that  number 
is  the  product  of  the  two  perfect  numbers,  and  perhaps 
with  allusion  to  the  seventy  souls  who  went  down  into 
Egypt  with  Jacob.  It  is  emphatically  said  that  they 
saw  'the  God  of  Israel,'  for  that  day's  covenant  had 
made  him  so  in  a  new  closeness  of  relationship.  In 
token  of  that  new  access  to  and  possession  in  Him, 
which  was  henceforth  to  be  the  prerogative  of  the 
obedient  people,  some  manifestation  of  His  immediate 
presence  was  poured  on  their  astonished  eyes.  It  is 
needless  to  inquire  its  nature,  or  to  ask  how  such 
a  statement  is  consistent  with  the  spirituality  of  the 
divine  nature,  or  with  what  this  same  book  of  Exodus 
says, '  There  shall  no  man  see  Me,  and  live.'  The  plain 
intention  is  to  assert  that  there  was  a  visible  mani- 
festation of  the  divine  presence,  but  no  attempt  is 
made  to  describe  it.  Our  eyes  are  stayed  at  the  pave- 
ment beneath  His  feet,  which  was  blue  as  sapphire, 
and  bright  as  the  cloudless  sky  gleaming  above  Sinai. 
It  is  enough  to  learn  that  '  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them '  to  whom  He  shows  '  His  covenant ' ;  that, 
by  the  power  of  sacrifice,  a  true  vision  of  God  may  be 
ours,  which  is  'in  a  mirror,  darkly,'  indeed,  but  yet 
is  real  and  all  sufficing.      Before  the  covenant  was 


vs.  1-12]  *LOVE  OF  THINE  ESPOUSALS*    125 

made,  Israel  had  been  warned  to  keep  afar  lest  He 
should  break  through  on  them,  but  now  '  He  laid  not 
His  hand'  upon  them;  for  only  blessing  can  stream 
from  His  presence  now,  and  His  hand  does  not  crush, 
but  uphold. 

Nor  is  this  all  which  we  learn  of  the  intercourse 
with  God  which  is  possible  on  the  ground  of  His  cove- 
nant. They  'did  eat  and  drink.'  That  may  suggest 
that  the  common  enjoyments  of  the  natural  life  are 
in  no  way  inconsistent  with  the  vision  of  God ;  but  more 
probably  it  is  meant  to  teach  a  deeper  lesson.  We 
have  remarked  that  the  ritual  of  the  peace-offering 
included  a  feast  on  the  sacrifice  'before  the  Lord,' 
by  which  was  signified  communion  with  Him,  as  at 
His  table,  and  this  meal  has  the  same  meaning.  They 
who  stand  in  covenant  relations  with  God,  feed  and 
feast  on  a  sacrifice,  and  thereby  hold  fellowship  with 
Him,  since  He  too  has  accepted  the  sacrifice  which 
nourishes  them.  So  that  strange  banquet  on  Sinai 
taught  a  fact  which  is  ever  true,  prophesied  the 
deepest  joys  of  Christian  experience,  which  are  realised 
in  the  soul  that  eats  the  flesh  and  drinks  the  blood  of 
Christ,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  dimly 
shadowed  the  yet  future  festival,  when,  cleansed  and 
consecrated  by  His  blood,  they  who  have  made  a 
covenant  with  Him  by  His  sacrifice,  shall  be  gathered 
unto  Him  in  the  heavenly  mount,  where  He  makes  a 
•  feast  of  fat  things  and  wines  on  the  lees  well  refined,' 
and  there  shall  sit,  for  ever  beholding  His  glory,  and 
satisfied  with  the  provisions  of  His  house. 


THE  BREAD  OP  THE  PRESENCE 

•Thou  Shalt  set  upon  the  table  shew-bread  before  Me  alway.'— Exodus  xxv.  20. 

I  SUSPECT  that  to  many  readers  the  term  *  shew-bread' 
conveys  little  more  meaning  than  if  the  Hebrew  words 
had  been  lifted  over  into  our  version.  The  original 
expression,  literally  rendered,  is  'bread  of  the  face'; 
or,  as  the  Revised  Version  has  it  in  the  margin, 
'presence  bread,'  and  the  meaning  of  that  singular 
designation  is  paraphrased  and  explained  in  my  text : 
•  Thou  shalt  set  upon  the  table,  bread  of  the  presence 
before  Me  always.'  It  was  bread,  then,  which  was  laid 
in  the  presence  of  God.  The  directions  with  regard  to 
it  may  be  very  briefly  stated.  Every  Sabbath  the 
priests  laid  upon  the  table  which  stood  on  one  side  of 
the  Altar  of  Incense,  in  the  Inner  Court,  two  piles  of 
loaves,  on  each  of  which  piles  was  placed  a  pan  of 
incense.  They  lay  there  for  a  week,  being  replaced  by 
fresh  ones  on  the  coming  Sabbath. 

The  Altar  of  Incense  in  the  middle  symbolised  the 
thought  that  the  priestly  life,  which  was  the  life  of  the 
nation,  and  is  the  life  of  the  Christian  both  individually 
and  collectively,  is  to  be  centrally  and  essentially  a 
life  of  prayer.  On  one  side  of  it  stood  the  great  golden 
lamp  which,  in  like  manner,  declared  that  the  activities 
of  the  priestly  life,  which  was  the  life  of  Israel,  and  is 
the  life  of  the  Christian  individually  and  collectively,  is 
to  be,  in  its  manward  aspect,  a  light  for  the  world.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  Altar  of  Incense  stood  this  table 
with  its  loaves.  What  does  it  say  about  the  life  of  the 
priest,  the  Church,  and  the  individual  Christian  ?  That 
is  the  question  that  I  wish  to  try  to  answer  here ;  and 

12« 


V.  30]  THE  BREAD  OF  THE  PRESENCE    127 

in  doing  so  let  me  first  ask  you  to  look  at  the  thing 
itself,  and  then  to  consider  its  connection  with  the 
other  two  articles  in  connection  with  which  it  made  a 
threefold  oneness. 

I.  Let  me  deal  with  this  singular  provision  of  the 
ancient  ritual  by  itself  alone. 

Bread  is  a  product  at  once  of  God's  gift  and  of  man's 
work.  In  the  former  aspect,  He  'leaves  not  Himself 
without  witness,  in  that,'  in  the  yearly  miracle  of  the 
harvest,  '  He  gives  us  bread  from  Heaven,  and  fruitful 
seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness ' ;  in 
the  latter,  considered  as  a  product  of  man's  activity, 
agriculture  is,  if  not  the  first,  at  all  events  in  settled 
communities  the  prime,  form  of  human  industry. 
The  farmer  and  the  baker  begin  the  series  of  man's 
industries.  So  that  these  loaves  were  fitly  taken  as 
representatives  of  all  kinds  of  human  industry  and 
their  products,  and  as  such  were  consecrated  to  God. 
That  is  the  broad  significance  of  this  institution,  which, 
as  we  shall  have  to  see,  links  itself  with  the  other  two 
conceptions  of  the  priestly  life  in  its  Godward  and 
in  its  manward  aspect.  Now  the  first  thing  that  is 
suggested,  therefore,  is  the  plain  obligation,  which  is 
also  a  blessed  privilege,  for  all  men  who  are  priests  of 
God  by  faith  in,  and  union  with,  the  great  High  Priest, 
that  they  lay  all  their  activities  as  an  offering  before 
God.  The  loaves  in  their  very  place  on  that  table, 
right  in  front  of  the  veil  that  parted  the  Inner  Court 
from  the  inmost  of  all,  where  the  Shekinah  shone,  and 
the  Cherubim  bowed  in  worship,  tell  us  that  in  some 
sense  they,  too,  were  an  offering,  and  that  the  table  was 
an  altar.  Their  sacrificial  character  is  emphasised  by 
the  fact  that  upon  the  top  of  each  of  the  piles  there 
was  laid  a  pan  of  incense. 


128  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

So,  then,  the  whole  was  an  offering  of  Israel's  activi- 
ties and  its  results  to  God.  And  we,  Christian  men 
and  women,  have  to  make  an  offering  of  all  our  active 
life,  and  all  its  products.  That  thought  opens  up  many 
considerations,  one  or  two  of  which  I  ask  leave  to 
touch  briefly.  First,  then,  if  my  active  life  is  to  be  an 
offering  to  God,  that  means  that  I  am  to  surrender 
myself.  And  that  surrender  means  three  things :  first, 
that  in  all  my  daily  work  I  am  to  set  Him  before  me 
as  my  end ;  second,  that  in  all  my  daily  work  I  am  to 
set  Him  before  me  as  my  law;  third,  that  in  all  my 
daily  work  I  am  to  set  Him  before  me  as  my  power. 
As  for  the  first,  whatever  a  man  does  for  any  motive 
other,  and  with  any  end  less,  than  God  and  His  Glory, 
that  act,  beautiful  as  it  may  be  in  other  respects,  loses 
its  supreme  beauty,  and  falls  short  of  perfect  nobleness, 
just  in  the  measure  in  which  other  motives,  or  other 
ends,  than  this  supreme  one,  are  permitted  to  dominate 
it.  I  do  not  contend  for  such  an  impossible  suppression 
of  myself  as  that  my  own  blessedness  and  the  like 
shall  be  in  no  manner  my  end,  but  I  do  maintain  this, 
that  in  good  old  language,  '  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God,'  and  that  anything  which  I  do,  unless  it  is  motived 
by  this  regard  to  Him  as  its  *  chief  end,'  loses  its  noblest 
consecration,  and  is  degraded  from  its  loftiest  beauty. 
The  Altar  sanctifies,  and  not  only  sanctifies  but  en- 
nobles, the  gift.  That  which  has  in  it  the  taint  of  self- 
regard  so  pronouncedly  and  dominantly  as  that  God  is 
shut  out,  is  like  some  vegetation  down  in  low  levels 
at  the  bottom  of  a  vale,  which  never  has  the  sun  to 
shine  upon  it.  But  let  it  rise  as  some  tree  above  the 
brushwood  until  its  topmost  branches  are  in  the  light, 
and  then  it  is  glorified.  To  live  to  self  is  ignoble  and 
mean;  to  live  for  others  is  higher  and  nobler.    But 


V.  30]  THE  BREAD  OF  THE  PRESENCE    129 

highest  and  noblest  of  all  is  to  offer  the  loaves  to  God, 
and  to  make  Him  the  end  of  all  our  activities. 

Again,  there  is  another  consideration,  bearing  on 
another  region  in  which  the  assertive  self  is  only  too 
apt  to  spoil  all  work.  And  that  is,  that  if  our  activities 
are  offerings  to  God,  this  means  that  His  supreme  Will 
is  to  be  our  law,  and  that  we  obey  His  commands  and 
accept  His  appointments  in  quiet  submission.  The 
tranquillity  of  heart,  the  accumulation  of  power,  which 
come  to  men  when  they,  from  the  depths,  say, '  Not  my 
will  but  Thine  be  done ' ;  '  Speak,  Lord !  for  Thy  servant 
heareth,'  cannot  be  too  highly  stated.  There  is  no  such 
charm  to  make  life  quiet  and  strong  as  the  submission 
of  the  will  to  God's  providences,  and  the  swift  obedience 
of  the  will  to  God's  commandments.  And  whilst  to 
make  self  my  end  mars  what  else  is  beautiful,  making 
self  my  law  mars  it  even  more. 

Further,  we  offer  our  activities  to  God  when  we  fall 
back  upon  Him  as  our  one  power,  and  say,  'Perfect 
Thy  strength  in  my  weakness.'  He  that  goes  out  into 
the  world  to  do  his  daily  work,  of  whatsoever  sort 
it  is — you  in  your  little  sphere,  or  I  in  mine — in  de- 
pendence upon  himself,  is  sure  to  be  defeated.  He 
that  says  'we  have  no  strength  against  this  great 
multitude  that  cometh  against  us,  but  our  eyes  are 
unto  Thee,'  will,  sooner  or  later,  be  able  to  go  back 
with  joy,  and  say,  'the  Lord  hath  done  great  things 
for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.'  The  man  that  goes  into 
the  fight  like  that  foolish  prime  minister  of  France 
under  the  Empire,  '  with  a  light  heart,'  will  very  soon 
find  his  Sedan,  and  have  shamefully  to  surrender. 
Brethren,  these  three  things,  making  God  the  end  of 
my  work ;  making  God's  will  the  law  of  my  work ; 
making  God's  strength  the  power  of  my  work;  these 

I 


130  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

are  the  ways  by  which  we,  too,  can  bring  our  little  pile 
of  barley  bread,  and  lay  it  upon  that  table. 

Again,  this  consecration  of  life's  activities  is  to  be 
carried  out  by  treating  their  products,  as  well  as  them- 
selves, as  offerings  to  God.  The  loaves  were  the  results  of 
human  activity.  They  were  also  the  products  of  divine 
gifts  elaborated  by  human  effort.  And  both  things  are 
true  about  all  the  bread  that  you  and  I  have  been  able 
to  make  for  the  satisfaction  of  our  desires,  or  the 
sustenance  of  our  strength — it  comes  ultimately  from 
the  gift  of  God.  In  regard  to  this  consecration  of  the 
product  of  our  activities,  as  well  as  of  our  activities 
themselves,  I  have  but  two  words  to  offer,  and  the  one 
is,  let  us  see  to  it  that  we  consecrate  our  enjoyment  of 
God's  gifts  by  bringing  that  enjoyment,  as  well  as  the 
activities  which  He  has  blessed  to  produce  it,  into  His 
presence.  That  table  bore  the  symbols  of  the  grateful 
recognition  of  God's  mercies  by  the  people.  And  when 
our  hearts  are  glad,  and  our  '  bosom's  lord  sits  lightly 
on  his  throne,'  we  have  special  need  to  take  care  that 
our  joy  be  not  godless,  nor  our  enjoyment  of  His  gifts 
be  without  reference  to  Himself.  *  Ah,'  you  say, '  that  is 
a  threadbare  commonplace.'  Yes,  it  is,  dear  friends  ;  it 
is  a  commonplace  just  because  it  is  needful  at  every 
turn,  if  we  are  to  make  our  lives  what  they  ought  to  be. 

May  I  say  another  thing  ?  and  that  is,  that  the  loaves 
that  were  laid  within  the  Sanctuary  were  not  intended 
to  be  separated  from  the  others  that  were  eaten  in  the 
tents,  nor  were  they  meant  to  be  a  kind  of  purchasing 
of  an  indulgence,  or  of  a  right,  by  surrendering  a  little, 
to  the  godless  and  selfish  enjoyment  of  the  rest  of  the 
batch,  or  of  the  rest  of  the  harvest.  Let  us  apply  that 
to  our  money,  which  is  one  of  the  products  of  our 
activities;  and  not  fancy,  as  a  great  many  people  do, 


V.30]  THE  BREAD  OF  THE  PRESENCE    131 

that  what  we  give  as  a  subscription  to  some  benevolent 
or  religious  institution  buys  for  us  the  right  to  spend 
all  the  rest  selfishly.  That  is  another  commonplace, 
very  threadbare  and  very  feeble,  when  we  speak  it, 
but  with  claws  and  teeth  in  it  that  will  lay  hold  of  us, 
when  we  try  to  put  it  in  practice.  The  enjoyments 
and  the  products  of  our  daily  activities  are  to  be 
offered  to  God. 

Still  further,  this  table  with  its  burden  has  sugges- 
tions that  as  Christians  we  are  bound  to  bring  all  our 
work  to  Him  for  His  judgment  upon  it.  The  loaves 
were  laid  right  in  front  of  the  veil,  behind  which 
blazed  the  light  of  His  presence.  And  that  meant  that 
they  were  laid  before  'those  pure  eyes  and  perfect 
judgment  of  all-judging '  God.  Whether  we  bring  our 
activities  there  or  no,  of  course  in  a  very  real  and 
solemn  sense  they  are  there.  But  what  I  desire  to 
insist  upon  now  is  how  important,  for  the  nobleness 
and  purity  of  our  daily  lives,  it  is  that  we  should  be  in 
the  continual  habit  of  realising  to  ourselves  the  thought 
that  whatever  we  do,  we  do  before  His  Face.  The 
Roman  Catholics  talk  about  'the  practice  of  the 
presence  of  God.'  One  does  not  like  the  phrase,  but 
all  true  religion  will  practise  what  is  meant  by  it.  And 
for  us  it  should  be  as  joyous  to  think,  'Thou  God  seest 
me,'  as  it  is  for  a  child  to  play  or  work  with  a  quiet 
heart,  because  it  knows  that  its  mother  is  sitting  some- 
where not  very  far  off  and  watching  that  no  harm 
comes  to  it.  That  thought  of  being  in  His  presence 
would  be  for  us  a  tonic,  and  a  test.  How  it  would  pull 
us  up  in  many  a  meanness,  and  keep  our  feet  from 
wandering  into  many  forbidden  ways,  if  there  came 
like  a  blaze  of  light  into  our  hearts  the  thought :  '  Thou 
God  seest  me ! '    There  are  many  of  our  activities,  I  am 


132  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

afraid,  which  we  should  not  like  to  put  down  on  that 
table.  Can  you  think  of  any  in  your  lives  that  you 
would  be  rather  ashamed  to  lay  there,  and  say  to  Him, 
'Judge  Thou  this'?  Then  do  not  do  it.  That  is  a 
brief,  but  a  very  stringent,  easily  applied,  and  satis- 
factory test  of  a  great  many  doubtful  things.  If  you 
cannot  take  them  into  the  Inner  Court,  and  lay  them 
down  there,  and  say,  *  Look,  Lord !  this  is  my  baking,' 
be  sure  that  they  are  made,  not  of  wholesome  flour, 
but  of  poisoned  grain,  and  that  there  is  death  in  them. 
Further,  this  table,  with  its  homely  burden  of  twelve 
poor  loaves,  may  suggest  to  us  how  the  simplest, 
smallest,  most  secular  of  our  activities  is  a  fit  offering 
to  Him.  The  loaves  were  not  out  of  place  amidst  the 
sanctities  of  the  spot,  nor  did  they  seem  to  be  in- 
congruous with  the  golden  altar  and  the  golden  lamp- 
stand,  and  yet  they  were  but  twelve  loaves.  The 
poorest  of  our  works  is  fit  to  be  carried  within  the 
shrine,  and  laid  upon  His  altar.  We  may  be  sure  that 
He  delights  even  in  the  meanest  and  humblest  of  them, 
if  only  we  take  them  to  Him  and  say :  *  All  things  come 
of  Thee,  and  of  Thine  own  have  we  given  Thee.'  Ah ! 
there  are  a  great  many  strange  things  in  Christ's  trea- 
sury. Mothers  will  hoard  up  trifles  that  belonged  to 
their  children,  which  everybody  else  thinks  worthless. 
Jesus  Christ  has  in  His  storehouse  a  '  cup  of  cold  water,' 
the  widows'  mites,  and  many  another  thing  that  the 
world  counts  of  no  value,  and  He  recognises  as  precious. 
There  is  an  old  story  about  some  great  emperor  making 
a  progress  through  his  dominions,  where  he  had  been 
receiving  precious  gifts  from  cities  and  nobles,  and  as 
the  gay  cortege  was  passing  a  poor  cottage,  the  peasant- 
owner  came  out  with  a  coarse  earthenware  cup  filled 
with  spring  water  in  his  hand,  and  offered  it  to  his 


V.  30]  THE  BKEAD  OF  THE  PRESENCE    133 

overlord  as  the  only  gift  that  he  could  give.  The  king 
accepted  it,  and  ennobled  him  on  the  spot.  Take  your 
barley  loaves  to  Christ,  and  He  will  lay  them  up  in  His 
storehouse. 

II.  Now  I  need  only  say  a  word  or  two  about  the 
other  aspect  of  this  table  of  shew-bread,  taken  with  the 
other  two  articles  in  conjunction  with  which  it  formed 
a  unity. 

The  lamp  and  the  table  go  together.  They  are  both 
offshoots  from  the  altar  in  the  middle.  That  is  to 
say,  your  lives  will  not  shine  before  men  unless  your 
activities  are  offered  to  God.  The  smallest  taint  of 
making  self  your  end,  your  law,  or  your  strength, 
mingling  with  your  lives,  and  manifest  in  their  actions, 
will  dim  the  light  which  shines  from  them,  and  men 
will  be  very  quick  to  find  out  and  say,  '  He  calls  himself 
a  Christian ;  but  he  lives  for  himself.'  Neither  the  light, 
which  is  the  radiance  of  a  Christian  life  manwards, 
can  be  sustained  without  the  offering  of  the  life  in  its 
depths  to  God,  nor  can  the  activities  of  the  life  be 
acceptably  offered  to  Him,  unless  the  man  that  offers 
them  •  lets  his  light  shine  before  men.'  The  lamp  and 
the  table  must  go  together. 

The  lamp  and  the  table  must  together  be  offshoots 
from  the  altar.  If  there  be  not  in  the  centre  of  the 
life  aspiration  after  Him  in  the  depths  of  the  heart, 
communion  with  Him  in  the  silent  places  of  the  soul, 
then  there  will  be  little  brightness  in  the  life  to  ray 
out  amongst  men,  and  there  will  be  little  consecration 
of  the  activities  to  be  laid  before  God.  The  reason 
why  the  manifold  bustle  and  busy-ness  of  the  Christian 
Church  to-day  sows  so  much  and  reaps  so  little,  lies 
mainly  here,  that  they  have  forgotten  to  a  large  extent 
how  the  altar  in  the  centre  must  give  the  oil  for  the 


134  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

lamp  to  shine,  and  the  grain  to  be  made  into  the  loaves. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  altar  in  the  middle  needs 
both  its  flanking  accompaniments.  For  the  Christian 
life  is  to  be  no  life  of  cloistered  devotion  and  heaven- 
ward aspiration  only  or  mainly,  but  is  to  manifest  its 
still  devotion  and  its  heavenward  aspiration  by  the 
consecration  of  its  activities  to  God,  and  the  raying  of 
them  out  into  a  darkened  world.  The  service  of  man 
is  the  service  of  God,  for  lamp  and  table  are  offshoots 
of  the  altar.  But  the  service  of  God  is  the  basis  of  the 
best  service  of  man,  for  the  altar  stands  between  the 
lamp  and  the  table. 

So,  brethren,  let  us  blend  these  three  aspects  into  a 
unity,  the  Altar,  the  Lamp,  the  Table,  and  so  shall  we 
minister  aright,  and  men  will  call  us  the  *  priests  of  the 
Most  High  God,'  till  we  pass  within  the  veil  where, 
better  than  the  best  of  us  here  can  do,  we  shall  be  able 
to  unite  still  communion  and  active  service,  and  shine 
as  the  sun  in  the  Kingdom  of  our  Father.  '  His  servants 
shall  serve  Him '  with  priestly  ministrations,  *  and  shall 
see  His  face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads.' 


THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND 

•Thou  Shalt  make  a  candlestick  of  pure  gold.  .  .  .'—Exodus  xxv.  31. 

If  we  could  have  followed  the  Jewish  priest  as  he 
passed  in  his  daily  ministrations  into  the  Inner  Court, 
we  should  have  seen  that  he  first  piled  the  incense  on 
the  altar  which  stood  in  its  centre,  and  then  turned  to 
trim  the  lamps  of  the  golden  candlestick  which  flanked 
it  on  one  side.  Of  course  it  was  not  a  candlestick, 
as  our  versions  piisleadingly  render  the  word.    That 


V.  31]      THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND        135 

was  an  article  of  furniture  unknown  in  those  days. 
It  was  a  lampstand;  from  a  central  upright  stem 
branched  off  on  either  side  three  arms  decorated  with 
what  the  Book  calls  'beaten  work,'  and  what  we  in 
modern  jewellers'  technicality  call  rSpouss4  work,  each 
of  which  bore  on  its  top,  like  a  flower  on  its  stalk, 
a  shallow  cup  filled  with  oil,  in  which  a  wick  floated. 
There  were  thus  seven  lamps  in  all,  including  that  on 
the  central  stem.  The  material  was  costly,  the  work 
adorning  it  was  artistic,  the  oil  with  which  it  was 
fed  was  carefully  prepared,  the  number  of  its  lamps 
expressed  perfection,  it  was  daily  trimmed  by  the 
priest,  and  there,  all  through  the  night,  it  burned, 
the  one  spot  of  light  in  a  dark  desert. 

Now,  this  Inner  Court  of  the  Tabernacle  or  Temple 
was  intended,  with  its  furniture,  to  be  symbolical  of 
the  life  of  Israel,  the  priestly  nation.  The  Altar  of 
Incense,  which  was  the  main  article  of  ecclesiastical 
equipment  there,  and  stood  in  the  central  place,  repre- 
sented the  life  of  Israel  in  its  Godward  aspect,  as  being 
a  life  of  continual  devotion.  The  Candlestick  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Table  of  Shew-bread  on  the  other, 
were  likewise  symbolical  of  other  aspects  of  that  same 
life.  I  have  to  deal  now  with  the  meaning  and  lessons 
of  this  golden  lampstand,  and  it  teaches  us — 

I.  The  office  manwards  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
individual  Christian. 

Let  me  just  for  a  moment  recall  the  various  instances 
in  which  this  symbol  reappears  in  Scripture.  We  have, 
in  the  vision  of  the  prophet  who  sustained  and  ani- 
mated the  spirits  of  Israel  in  their  Restoration,  the 
repetition  of  the  emblem,  in  the  great  golden  candle- 
stick which  Zechariah  saw,  fed  by  two  'olive  trees,' 
o^e   on  either   side   of  it;   and  in  the  last  book  of 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

Scripture  we  have  that  most  significant  and  lovely- 
variation  of  it,  the  reappearance,  not  of  the  one  golden 
candlestick  or  lampstand,  but  of  seven.  The  formal 
unity  is  at  an  end,  but  the  seven  constitute  a  better, 
more  vital  unity,  because  Christ  is  in  the  midst.  We 
may  learn  the  lesson  that  the  Christian  conception  of 
the  oneness  of  the  Church  towers  above  the  Jewish 
conception  of  the  oneness  of  Israel  by  all  the  difference 
that  there  is  between  a  mere  mechanical,  external 
unity,  and  a  vital  oneness — because  all  are  partakers 
of  the  one  Christ.  I  may  recall,  also,  how  our  Lord, 
in  that  great  programme  of  the  Kingdom  which 
Matthew  has  gathered  together  in  what  we  call 
'the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,'  immediately  after  the 
Beatitudes,  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  office  of  His  people 
under  the  two  metaphors  of  'the  salt  of  the  earth' 
and  '  the  light  of  the  world,'  and  immediately  connects 
with  the  latter  of  the  two  a  reference  to  a  lamp  lit 
and  set  upon  its  stand;  and  clinches  the  whole  by 
the  exhortation,  'Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men 
that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your 
Father  which  is  in  Heaven.' 

A  remarkable  and  beautiful  variation  of  that  ex- 
hortation is  found  in  one  of  the  Apostolic  writings 
when  Paul,  instead  of  saying,  '  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world,'  says,  'Shine  as  lights  in  the  world,'  and  so 
gives  us  the  individual,  as  well  as  the  collective  and 
ecclesiastical,  aspect  of  these  great  functions.  That 
is  a  hint  that  is  very  much  needed.  Christian  people 
are  quite  willing  to  admit  that  the  Church,  the  ab- 
straction, the  generalisation,  is  '  the  light  of  the  world.' 
But  they  are  wofully  apt  to  slip  their  own  necks 
out  from  under  the  yoke  of  the  obligation,  and  to 
forget  that  the  collective  light  is  only  the  product  of 


V.  31]      THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND        137 

the  millions  of  individual  lights  rushing  together — just 
as  in  some  gas-lights  you  have  a  whole  series  of  minute 
punctures,  each  of  which  gives  out  its  own  little  jet 
of  radiance,  and  all  run  together  into  one  brilliant 
circle.  So  do  not  let  us  escape  the  personal  pressure 
of  this  office,  or  lay  it  all  on  the  broad  shoulders  of 
that  generalised  abstraction  'the  Church.'  But,  since 
the  collective  light  is  but  the  product  of  the  individual 
small  shinings,  let  us  take  the  two  lessons :  first,  con- 
tribute our  part  to  the  general  lustre ;  second,  be  con- 
tent with  having  our  part  lost  in  the  general  light. 

But  now  let  me  turn  for  a  little  while  to  the  more 
specific  meaning  of  this  symbol.  The  life  which,  by 
the  central  position  of  the  Altar  of  Incense,  was 
symbolised  as  being  centrally,  essentially  in  its  depths 
and  primarily,  a  life  of  habitual  devotion  and  com- 
munion with  God,  in  its  man  ward  aspect  is  a  life  that 
shines  *to  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.'  That  is  the 
solemn  obligation,  the  ideal  function,  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  of  each  individual  who  professes  to  belong 
to  it.  Now,  if  you  recur  to  our  Lord's  own  application 
of  this  metaphor,  to  which  I  have  already  referred, 
you  will  see  that  the  first  and  foremost  way  by  which 
Christian  communities  and  individuals  discharge  this 
function  is  by  conduct.  •  Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men ' — that  they  may  hear  your  eloquent  proclamation 
of  the  Gospel?  No!  'Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men ' — that  you  may  convince  the  gainsayers  by  argu- 
ment, or  move  the  hard-hearted  by  appeals  and  ex- 
hortations; that  you  may  preach  and  talk?  No! 
'That  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your 
Father  which  is  in  Heaven.'  We  may  say  of  the 
Christian  community,  and  of  the  Christian  individual, 


138  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

with  all  reverence,  what  the  Scripture  in  an  infinitely 
deeper  and  more  sacred  sense  says  of  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  *  the  life  was  the  light.'  It  is  conduct,  where- 
by most  effectually,  most  unirersally,  and  with  the 
least  risk  of  rousing  antagonism  and  hostile  feelings. 
Christian  people  may  'shine  as  lights  in  the  world.' 
For  we  all  know  how  the  inconsistencies  of  a  Christian 
man  block  the  path  of  the  Gospel  far  more  than  a 
hundred  sermons  or  talks  further  it.  We  all  know 
how  there  are  people,  plenty  of  them,  who,  however 
illogically  yet  most  naturally,  compare  our  lives  in 
their  daily  action  with  our  professed  beliefs,  and, 
saying  to  themselves,  '  I  do  not  see  that  there  is  much 
difference  between  them  and  me,'  draw  the  conclusion 
that  it  matters  very  little  whether  a  man  is  a  Christian 
or  not,  seeing  that  the  conduct  of  the  men  who  profess 
to  be  so  is  little  more  radiant,  bright  with  purity  and 
knowledge  and  joy,  than  is  the  conduct  of  others. 
Dear  brethren,  you  can  do  far  more  to  help  or  hinder 
the  spread  of  Christ's  Kingdom  by  the  way  in  which 
you  do  common  things,  side  by  side  with  men  who 
are  not  partakers  of  the  'like  precious  faith'  with 
yourselves,  than  I  or  my  fellow-preachers  can  do  by 
all  our  words.  It  is  all  very  well  to  lecture  about 
the  efficiency  of  a  machine;  let  us  see  it  at  work, 
and  that  will  convince  people.  We  preach;  but  you 
preach  far  more  eloquently,  and  far  more  effectively, 
by  your  lives.  'In  all  labour,'  says  the  Book  of 
Proverbs,  '  there  is  profit ' — which  we  may  divert  from 
its  original  meaning  to  signify  that  in  all  Christian 
living  there  is  force  to  attract — 'but  the  talk  of  the 
lips  tendeth  only  to  poverty.'  Oh !  if  the  Christian  men 
and  women  of  England  would  live  their  Christianity, 
they  would  do  more  to  convert  the  unconverted,  an4 


V.31]       THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND         139 

to  draw  in  the  outcasts,  than  all  of  us  preachers  can 
do.  'From  you,'  said  the  Apostle  once  to  a  church 
very  young,  and  just  rescued  from  the  evils  of  heathen- 
ism—  'from  you  sounded  out,'  as  if  blown  from  a 
trumpet,  '  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  so  that  we  need  not 
to  speak  anything.'  Live  the  life,  and  thereby  you 
diffuse  the  light. 

Nor  need  we  forget  that  this  most  potent  of  all 
weapons  is  one  that  can  be  wielded  by  all  Christian 
people.  Our  gifts  differ.  Some  of  us  cannot  speak 
for  Jesus ;  some  of  us  who  think  we  can  had  often 
better  hold  our  tongues.  But  we  can  all  live  like 
and  for  Him.  And  this  most  potent  and  universally 
diffused  possibility  is  also  the  weapon  that  can  be 
wielded  with  least  risk  of  failure.  There  is  a  certain 
assumption,  which  it  is  often  difficult  to  swallow,  in 
a  Christian  man's  addressing  another  on  the  under- 
standing that  he,  the  speaker,  possesses  something 
which  the  other  lacks.  By  words  we  may  often  repel, 
and  often  find  that  the  ears  that  we  seek  to  enter 
with  our  message  close  themselves  against  us  and  are 
unwilling  to  hear.  But  there  is  no  chance  of  offending 
anybody,  or  of  repelling  anybody,  by  living  Christlike. 
We  can  all  do  that,  and  it  is  the  largest  contribution 
that  any  of  us  can  make  to  the  collective  light  which 
shines  out  from  the  Christian  Church. 

But,  brethren,  we  have  to  remember  that  there  are 
dangers  attending  the  life  that  reveals  its  hidden 
principles  as  being  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to 
Him.  Did  you  ever  notice  how,  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  there  are  two  sets  of  precepts  which  seem 
diametrically  opposite  to  one  another?  There  is  a 
whole  series  of  illustrations  of  the  one  commandment, 
*  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  before 


140  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

men,  to  be  seen  of  them,'  and  then  there  is  the  precept, 
*  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works.'  So  that  whilst,  on  the  one  hand, 
there  is  to  be  the  manifestation  in  daily  conduct  of 
the  inner  principles  that  animate  us,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  there  comes  in  the  least  taint  or  trace  of 
ostentation,  everything  is  spoiled,  and  the  light  is 
darkness.  The  light  of  the  sun  makes  all  things 
visible  and  hides  itself.  We  do  not  see  the  sunbeams, 
but  we  see  what  the  sunbeams  illuminate.  It  is  the 
coarser  kinds  of  light  which  are  themselves  separately 
visible,  and  they  are  so  only  because  they  have  not 
power  enough  to  make  everything  around  them  as 
brilliant  as  they  themselves  are.  So  our  light  is  to 
be  silent,  our  light  is — if  I  might  use  such  a  phrase — 
to  hide  itself  in  '  a  glorious  privacy,'  whilst  it  enables 
men  to  see,  even  through  our  imperfect  ministration, 
the  face  of  our  Father  in  Heaven. 

But  let  me  remind  you  that  the  same  variation  by 
Paul  of  our  Lord's  words  to  which  I  have  already 
referred  as  bringing  out  the  difference  between  the 
collective  and  the  individual  function,  also  brings  out 
another  difference ;  for  Paul  says,  'Ye  shine  as  lights  in 
the  world,  holding  forth  the  word  of  life.'  He  slightly 
varies  the  metaphor.  We  are  no  longer  regarded  as 
being  ourselves  illuminants,  but  simply  as  being  the 
stands  on  which  the  light  is  placed.  And  that  means 
that  whilst  the  witness  by  life  is  the  mightiest,  the 
most  universally  possible,  and  the  least  likely  to 
offend,  there  must  also  be,  as  occasion  shall  serve, 
without  cowardice,  without  shamefaced  reticence,  the 
proclamation  of  the  great  Gospel  which  has  made  us 
'  lights  in  the  world.'  And  that  is  a  function  which 
every  Christian  man  can  discharge  too,  though  I  have 


V.  31]      THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND         141 

just  been  saying  that  they  cannot  all  preach  and 
speak;  for  every  Christian  soul  has  some  other  soul 
to  whom  its  word  comes  with  a  force  that  none  other 
can  have. 

So  the  one  office  that  is  set  forth  here  is  the  old 
familiar  one,  the  obligation  of  which  is  fully  recognised 
by  us  all,  and  pitifully  ill-discharged  by  any  of  us,  to 
shine  by  our  daily  life,  and  to  shine  by  the  actual 
communication  by  speech  of  '  the  Name  that  is  above 
every  name.'  That  is  the  ideal;  alas  for  the  reality! 
'  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.'  What  kind  of  light 
do  we — the  Church  of  Christ  that  gathers  here — ray 
out  into  the  darkness  of  Manchester?  Socially,  in- 
tellectually, morally,  in  the  civic  life,  in  the  national 
life,  are  Christian  people  in  the  van  ?  They  ought  to 
be.  There  is  a  church  clock  in  our  city  which  has  a 
glass  dial  that  professes  to  be  illuminated  at  night, 
so  that  the  passer-by  may  tell  the  hour;  but  it  is 
generally  burning  so  dimly  that  nobody  can  see  on 
its  grimy  face  what  o'clock  it  is.  That  is  like  a  great 
many  of  our  churches,  and  I  ask  you  to  ask  yourselves 
whether  it  is  like  you  or  not — a  dark  lantern,  a  most 
imperfectly  illuminated  dial,  which  gives  no  guidance 
and  no  information  to  anybody. 

This  golden  lampstand  teaches  us — 

II.  How  this  office  is  to  be  discharged. 

Remember  simply  these  two  points.  It  stood,  as  I 
have  already  said,  on  one  side  of  the  Altar  of  Incense 
which  was  central  to  everything.  It  was  daily  tended 
by  the  priests,  and  fed  with  fresh  oil.  Hence  we  may 
derive  some  important  practical  lessons. 

To  begin  with,  we  note  that  our  light  is  a  derived 
light,  and  therefore  can  only  be  kept  bright  when  we 
keep  close  to  the  source  from  whence  it  is  derived. 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxv. 

'  That  was  the  true  Light,  which  coming  into  the  world 
lighteth  every  man ' — there  is  the  source  of  all  illumina- 
tion, in  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  He  alone  is  the  Light,  and 
as  for  all  others  we  must  say  of  them  what  was  said 
of  His  great  forerunner,  •  Not  that  light,  but  sent  to 
bear  witness  of  that  light ' ;  and  again, '  he  was  a  light 
kindled,'  and  therefore  'shining,'  and  so  his  shining 
was  but  'for  a  season.'  But  Jesus  is  for  ever  the 
light  of  the  world,  and  all  our  illumination  comes 
from  Him.  As  Paul  says,  *Now  are  ye  light  in  the 
Lord,'  therefore  only  in  the  measure  in  which  we  are 
'in  the  Lord,'  shall  we  be  light.  Keep  near  to  Him 
and  you  will  shine;  break  the  connection  with  Him, 
and  you  are  darkness,  darkness  for  yourselves,  and 
darkness  for  the  world.  Switch  off,  and  the  light  is 
darkness. 

Change  the  metaphor,  and  instead  of  saying  *  derived 
light '  say  *  reflected  light.'  There  is  a  pane  of  glass  in 
a  cottage,  miles  away  across  the  moor.  It  was  invisible 
a  moment  ago,  and  suddenly  it  gleams  like  a  diamond. 
Why  ?  The  sun  has  struck  it ;  and  in  a  moment  after 
it  will  be  invisible  again.  As  long  as  Jesus  Christ  is 
shining  on  my  heart,  so  long,  and  not  a  moment 
longer,  shall  I  give  forth  the  light  that  will  illumine 
the  world.  Astronomers  have  a  contrivance  by  which 
they  can  keep  a  photographic  film  on  which  they  are 
seeking  to  get  the  image  of  a  star,  moving  along  with 
the  movement  of  the  heavens,  so  that  on  the  same 
spot  the  star  shall  always  shine.  We  have  to  keep 
ourselves  steady  beneath  the  white  beam  from  Jesus, 
and  then  we,  too,  shall  be  '  light  in  the  Lord.' 

Our  light  is  fed  light.  Daily  came  the  priest,  daily 
the  oil  that  had  been  exhausted  by  shining  was  re- 
plenished.   We  all  know  what  that  oil  means  and  is ; 


V.  31]      THE  GOLDEN  LAMPSTAND         143 

the  Divine  Spirit  which  comes  into  every  heart  which 
is  open  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  which  abides  in  every 
heart  where  there  are  desire,  obedience,  and  the 
following  of  Him ;  which  can  be  quenched  by  my  sin, 
by  my  negligence,  by  my  ceasing  to  wish  it,  by  my 
not  using  its  gifts  when  I  have  them;  which  can  be 
grieved  by  my  inconsistencies,  and  by  the  spots  of 
darkness  that  so  often  take  up  more  of  the  sphere  of  my 
life  than  the  spots  of  illumination.  But  we  can  have 
as  much  of  that  oil  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  the  '  unction 
from  the  Holy  One,'  as  we  desire,  and  expect,  and  use. 
And  unless  we  have,  dear  brethren,  there  is  no  shining 
for  us.  This  generation  in  its  abundant  activities 
tends  to  a  Christianity  which  has  more  spindles  than 
power,  which  is  more  surface  than  depth,  which  is  eo 
anxious  to  do  service  that  it  forgets  the  preliminary 
of  all  right  service,  patient,  solitary,  silent  communion 
with  God.  Suffer  the  word  of  exhortation — let  shining 
be  second,  let  replenishing  with  the  oil  be  first.  First 
the  Altar  of  Incense,  then  the  Candlestick. 

III.  This  golden  lampstand  tells  us  of  the  fatal  effect 
of  neglecting  the  Church's  and  the  individual's  duty. 

Where  is  the  seven-branched  candlestick  of  the  second 
Temple?  No  one  knows.  Possibly,  according  to  one 
statement,  it  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Certainly  we  know  that  it  is  pictured  on  that  sad  panel 
in  the  conqueror's  arch  at  Rome,  and  that  it  became 
a  trophy  of  the  insolent  victor.  It  disappeared,  and 
the  Israel  whom  it  vainly  endeavoured  through  the 
centuries  to  stir  to  a  consciousness  of  its  vocation, 
has  never  since  had  a  gleam  of  light  to  ray  out  into 
the  world.  Where  are  the  seven  candlesticks,  which 
made  a  blessed  unity  because  Christ  walked  in  their 
midst  ?    Where  are  the  churches  of  Ephesus,  Smyrna, 


144  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.  xxviii 

Philadelphia,  Thyatira,  and  the  rest?  "Where  they 
stood  the  mosque  is  reared,  and  from  its  minaret  day 
by  day  rings  out — not  the  proclamation  of  the  Name, 
but — 'There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mahomet  is  His 
Prophet.'  The  Pharos  that  ought  to  have  shone  out 
over  stormy  seas  has  been  seized  by  wreckers,  and  its 
light  is  blinded,  and  false  lights  lure  the  mariner  to 
the  shoals  and  to  shipwreck. 

'  Take  heed  lest  He  also  spare  not  thee.'  O  brethreni 
is  it  not  a  bitter  irony  to  call  us  'lights  of  the 
world'?  Let  us  penitently  recognise  the  inconsist- 
encies of  our  lives,  and  the  reticence  of  our  speech. 
Let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the  high  ideal,  that  we  may 
the  more  penitently  recognise  the  miserable  falling 
short  of  our  reality.  And  let  us  be  thankful  that  the 
Priest  is  tending  the  lamps.  '  He  will  not  quench  the 
smoking  wick,'  but  will  replenish  it  with  oil,  and  fan 
the  dying  flame.  Only  let  us  not  resist  His  ministra- 
tions, which  are  always  gentle,  even  when  He  removes 
the  charred  blacknesses  that  hinder  our  being  what 
we  should  be,  and  may  be,  if  we  will— lights  of  the 
world.  'Arise!  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.' 


THE  NAMES  ON  AARON'S  BREASTPLATE 

'Aaron  shall  bear  their  names  before  the  Lord,  upon  his  two  shoulders,  for  a 
memorial.  .  .  .  And  Aaron  shall  bear  the  names  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the 
breastplate  of  judgment  upon  his  heart,  when  he  goeth  in  unto  the  Holy  Place.'— 
EzoDUB  xxviii.  12,  29. 

Every  part  of  the  elaborately  prescribed  dress  of  the 
high  priest  was  significant.  But  the  significance  of  the 
whole  was  concentrated  in  the  inscription  upon  his 


vs.  12, 29]    AARON'S  BREASTPLATE  145 

mitre,  '  Holiness  to  the  Lord,'  and  in  those  others  upon 
his  breastplate  and  his  shoulder. 

The  breastplate  was  composed  of  folded  cloth,  in 
which  were  lodged  twelve  precious  stones,  in  four  rows 
of  three,  each  stone  containing  the  name  of  one  of  the 
tribes.  It  was  held  in  position  by  the  ephod,  which 
consisted  of  another  piece  of  cloth,  with  a  back  and 
front  part,  which  were  united  into  one  on  the  shoulders. 
On  each  shoulder  it  was  clasped  by  an  onyx  stone 
bearing  the  names  of  six  of  'the  tribes.  Thus  twice,  on 
the  shoulders,  the  seat  of  power,  and  on  the  heart,  the 
organ  of  thought  and  of  love,  Aaron,  entering  into  the 
presence  of  the  Most  High,  bore  'the  names  of  the 
tribes  for  a  memorial  continually.' 

Now,  I  think  we  shall  not  be  indulging  in  the  very 
dangerous  amusement  of  unduly  spiritualising  the  ex- 
ternalities of  that  old  law  if  we  see  here,  in  these  two 
things,  some  very  important  lessons. 

I.  The  first  one  that  I  would  suggest  to  you  is — here 
we  have  the  expression  of  the  great  truth  of  represen- 
tation of  the  people  by  the  priest. 

The  names  of  the  tribes  laid  upon  Aaron's  heart  and 
on  his  shoulders  indicated  the  significance  of  his  office 
— that  he  represented  Israel  before  God,  as  truly  as 
he  represented  God  to  Israel.  For  the  moment  the 
personality  of  the  official  was  altogether  melted  away 
and  absorbed  in  the  sanctity  of  his  function,  and  he 
stood  before  God  as  the  individualised  nation.  Aaron 
was  Israel,  and  Israel  was  Aaron,  for  the  purposes  of 
worship.  And  that  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
here,  on  the  shoulders  from  which,  according  to  an 
obvious  symbol,  all  acts  of  power  emanate,  and  on  the 
heart  from  which,  according  to  most  natural  metaphor, 
all  the  outgoings  of  the  personal  life  proceed,  were 

K 


146  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxviii. 

written  the  names  of  the  tribes.  That  meant,  'This 
man  standing  here  is  the  Israel  of  God,  the  concentrated 
nation.' 

The  same  thought  works  the  other  way.  The  nation 
is  the  diffused  priest,  and  aU  its  individual  components 
are  consecrated  to  God.  All  this  was  external  cere- 
monial, with  no  real  spiritual  fact  at  the  back  of  it. 
But  it  pointed  onwards  to  something  that  is  not 
ceremonial.  It  pointed  to  this,  that  the  true  priest 
must,  in  like  manner,  gather  up  into  himself,  and  in  a 
very  profound  sense  be,  the  people  for  whom  he  is  the 
priest ;  and  that  they,  in  their  turn,  by  the  action  of 
their  own  minds  and  hearts  and  wills,  must  consent 
to  and  recognise  that  representative  relation,  which 
comes  to  the  solemn  height  of  identification  in  Christ's 
relation  to  His  people.  'I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the 
branches,'  says  He,  and  also,  'That  they  all  may  be 
one  in  us  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee.' 
So  Paul  says,  'I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me.'  '  The  life  which  I  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God.' 

So  Christ  gathers  us  all,  if  we  will  let  Him,  into 
Himself;  and  our  lives  may  be  hid  with  Him — in  a 
fashion  that  is  more  than  mere  external  and  formal 
representation,  or  as  people  have  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment to  represent  them  in  the  councils  of  the  nation — 
even  in  a  true  union  with  Him  in  whom  is  the  life  of 
all  of  us,  if  we  live  in  any  real  sense.  Aaron  bore  the 
names  of  the  tribes  on  shoulder  and  heart,  and  Israel 
was  Aaron,  and  Aaron  was  Israel. 

II.  Further,  we  see  here,  in  these  eloquent  symbols, 
the  true  significance  of  intercession. 

Now,  that  is  a  word  and  a  thought  which  has  been 
wofuUy  limited  and  made  shallow  and  superficial  by 


vs.  12,29]    AARON'S  BREASTPLATE  147 

the  unfortunate  confining  of  the  expression,  in  our 
ordinary  language,  to  a  mere  action  by  speech.  Inter- 
cession is  supposed  to  be  verbal  asking  for  some  good 
to  be  bestowed  on,  or  some  evil  to  be  averted  from, 
some  one  in  w^hom  we  are  interested.  But  the  Old 
Testament  notion  of  the  priest's  intercession,  and  the 
Nev7  Testament  use  of  the  vsrord  which  we  so  render,  go 
far  beyond  any  verbal  utterances,  and  reach  to  the 
very  heart  of  things.  Intercession,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  means  the  doing  of  any  act  whatsoever 
before  God  for  His  people  by  Jesus  Christ.  Whenso- 
ever, as  in  the  presence  of  God,  He  brings  to  God 
anything  which  is  His,  that  is  intercession.  He  under- 
takes for  them,  not  by  words  only,  though  His  mighty 
word  is,  '  I  will  that  they  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me 
be  with  Me  where  I  am,'  but  by  acts  which  are  more 
than  even  the  words  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 

If  we  take  these  two  inscriptions  upon  which  I  am 
now  commenting,  we  shall  get,  I  think,  what  covers 
the  whole  ground  of  the  intercession  on  which 
Christians  are  to  repose  their  souls.  For,  with  regard 
to  the  one  of  them,  we  read  that  the  high  priest's 
breastplate  was  named  '  the  breastplate  of  judgment ' ; 
and  what  that  means  is  explained  by  the  last  words  of 
the  verse  following  that  from  which  my  text  is  taken : 
•Aaron  shall  bear  the  judgment  of  the  children  of 
Israel  upon  his  heart  before  the  Lord.'  Judgment 
means  a  judicial  sentence;  in  this  case  a  judicial 
sentence  of  acquittal.  And  that  Aaron  stood  before 
God  in  the  Holy  Place,  ministering  with  this  breast- 
plate upon  his  heart,  is  explained  by  the  writer  of 
these  regulations  to  mean  that  he  carried  there  the 
visible  manifestation  of  Israel's  acquittal,  based  upon 
his  own  sacrificial  function.    Now,  put  that  into  plain 


148  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxvm. 

English,  and  it  is  just  this — Jesus  Christ's  sacrifice 
ensures,  for  all  those  whose  names  are  written  on 
these  gems  on  His  heart,  their  acquittal  in  the  judg- 
ment of  Heaven.  Or,  in  other  words,  the  first  step 
in  the  intercession  of  our  great  High  Priest  is  the 
presenting  before  God  for  ever  and  ever  that  great 
fact  that  He,  the  Sinless,  has  died  for  the  love  of  sinful 
men,  and  thereby  has  secured  that  the  judgment  of 
Heaven  on  them  shall  now  be  '  no  condemnation.' 
Brethren,  there  is  the  root  of  all  our  hope  in  Christ, 
and  of  all  that  Christ  is  to  individuals  and  to  society 
— the  assurance  that  the  breastplate  of  judgment  is  on 
His  heart,  as  a  sign  that  all  who  trust  Him  are  acquitted 
by  the  tribunal  of  Heaven. 

The  other  side  of  this  great  continual  act  of  inter- 
cession is  set  forth  by  the  other  symbol — the  names 
written  on  the  shoulders,  the  seat  of  power.  There  is 
a  beautiful  parallel,  which  yet  at  first  sight  does  not 
seem  to  be  one,  to  the  thought  that  lies  here,  in  the 
Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  where,  addressing  the 
restored  and  perfected  Israel,  he  says,  speaking  in  the 
person  of  Jehovah :  •  I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms 
of  My  hands.'  That  has  precisely  the  same  meaning 
that  I  take  to  be  conveyed  by  this  symbol  in  the  text. 
The  names  of  the  tribes  are  written  on  His  shoulders ; 
and  not  until  that  arm  is  wearied  or  palsied,  not  till 
that  strong  hand  forgets  its  cunning,  will  our  defence 
fail.  If  our  names  are  thus  written  on  the  seat  of 
power,  that  means  that  all  the  divine  authority  and 
omnipotence  which  Jesus  Christ,  the  Eternal  Son  of 
the  Father,  wields  in  His  state  of  royal  glory,  are 
exercised  on  behalf  of,  or  at  all  events  on  the  side  of, 
those  whose  names  He  thus  bears  upon  His  shoulders. 
That  is  the  guarantee  for  each  of  us  that  our  hands 


vs.  12, 29]    AARON'S  BREASTPLATE  149 

shall  be  made  strong,  according  to  the  ancient  prophetic 
blessing,  'by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob.' 
Just  as  a  father  or  a  mother  will  take  their  child's 
little  tremulous  hand  in  theirs  and  hold  it,  that  it  may 
be  strengthened  for  some  small  task  beyond  its  un- 
backed, uninvigorated  power ;  so  Jesus  Christ  will  give 
us  strength  within,  and  also  will  order  the  march  of 
His  Providence  and  send  the  gift  of  His  Spirit,  for  the 
succour  and  the  strengthening  of  all  whose  names  are 
written  on  His  ephod.  He  has  gone  within  the  veil. 
He  has  left  us  heavy  tasks,  but  our  names  are  on  His 
shoulders,  and  we  'can  do  all  things  in  Christ  who 
strengtheneth  us.' 

III.  Still  further,  this  symbol  suggests  to  us  the  depth 
and  reality  of  Christ's  sympathy. 

The  heart  is,  in  our  language,  the  seat  of  love.  It  is 
not  so  in  the  Old  Testament.  Affection  is  generally 
allocated  to  another  part  of  the  frame;  but  here  the 
heart  stands  for  the  organ  of  care,  of  thought,  of 
interest.  For,  according  to  the  Old  Testament  view 
of  the  relation  between  man's  body  and  man's  soul, 
the  very  seat  and  centre  of  the  individual  life  is  in 
the  heart.  I  suppose  that  was  because  it  was  known 
that,  somehow  or  other,  the  blood  came  thence.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  the  thought  is  clear  throughout  all  the 
Old  Testament  that  the  heart  is  the  man,  and  the  man  is 
the  heart.  And  so,  if  Jesus  bears  our  names  upon  His 
heart,  that  does  not  express  merely  representation  nor 
merely  intercession,  but  it  expresses  also  personal 
regard,  individualising  knowledge.  For  Aaron  wore 
not  one  great  jewel  with  '  Israel '  written  on  it, 
but  twelve  little  ones,  with  'Dan,'  'Benjamin,'  and 
'Ephraim,'  and  all  the  rest  of  them,  each  on  his  own 
gem. 


150  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxvm. 

So  we  can  say,  *  Such  a  High  Priest  became  us,  who 
could  have  compassion  upon  the  ignorant,  and  upon 
them  that  are  out  of  the  way ' ;  and  we  can  fall  back 
on  that  old-fashioned  but  inexhaustible  source  of  con- 
solation and  strength:  'In  all  their  affliction  He  was 
afflicted';  and  though  the  noise  of  the  tempests  which 
toss  us  can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  penetrate  into  the 
veiled  place  where  He  dwells  on  high,  yet  we  may 
be  sure — and  take  all  the  peace  and  consolation  and 
encouragement  out  of  it  that  it  is  meant  to  give  us — 
that  *  we  have  not  a  High  Priest  that  cannot  be  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,'  but  that  Himself, 
having  known  miseries,  *  is  able  to  succour  them  that 
are  tempted.'    Our  names  are  on  Christ's  heart. 

IV.  Then,  lastly,  we  have  here  a  suggestion  of  how 
precious  to  Aaron  Israel  is. 

Jewels  were  chosen  to  symbolise  the  tribes.  Bits  of 
tin,  potsherds,  or  anything  else  that  one  could  have 
scratched  letters  upon,  would  have  done  quite  as  well. 
But  'the  precious  things  of  the  everlasting  mountains' 
were  chosen  to  bear  the  dear  names.  '  The  Lord's  portion 
is  His  people ' ;  and  precious  in  the  eyes  of  Christ  are 
the  souls  for  whom  He  has  given  so  much.  They  are  not 
only  precious,  but  lustrous,  flashing  back  the  light  in 
various  colours  indeed,  according  to  their  various  laws 
of  crystallisation,  but  all  receptive  of  it  and  all  reflective 
of  it.  I  said  that  the  names  on  the  breastplate  of 
judgment  expressed  the  acquittal  and  acceptance  of 
Israel.  But  does  Christ's  work  for  us  stop  with  simple 
acquittal  ?  Oh  no  !  '  Whom  He  justified  them  He  also 
glorified.'  And  if  our  souls  are  '  bound  in  the  bundle  of 
life,'  and  our  names  are  written  on  the  heart  of  the 
Christ,  be  sure  that  mere  forgiveness  and  acquittal  is 
the  least  of  the  blessings  which  He  intends  to  give,  and 


vs.  12, 29]      THREE  INSCRIPTIONS  151 

that  He  will  not  be  satisfied  until  in  all  our  nature  we 
receive  and  flash  back  the  light  of  His  own  glory. 

It  is  very  significant  in  this  aspect  that  the  names  of 
the  twelve  tribes  are  described  as  being  written  on  the 
precious  stones  which  make  the  walls  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  Thus  borne  on  Christ's  heart  whilst  He  is 
within  the  veil  and  we  are  in  the  outer  courts,  we  may 
hope  to  be  carried  by  His  sustaining  and  perfecting 
hand  into  the  glories,  and  be  made  participant  of  the 
glories.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  write  His  name  on 
our  hearts,  on  their  cares,  their  thought,  their  love, 
and  on  our  hands,  on  their  toiling  and  their  possessing ; 
and  then,  God  helping  us,  and  Christ  dwelling  in  us, 
we  shall  come  to  the  blessed  state  of  those  who  serve 
Him,  and  bear  His  nam.e  flaming  conspicuous  for  ever 
on  their  foreheads. 


THREE  INSCRIPTIONS  WITH  ONE  MEANING 

*  Thou  Shalt  make  a  plate  of  pure  gold,  and  grave  upon  it  .  .  .  Holiness  to  thb 
Lord.'  —Exodus  xxviii.  36. 

'  In  that  day  there  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  HoLiNBSS  unto  thb 
Lord.'— Zech.  xiv.  20. 

'His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads.'— Rev.  xxii.  i. 

You  will  have  perceived  my  purpose  in  putting  these 
three  widely  separated  texts  together.  They  all  speak 
of  inscriptions,  and  they  are  all  obviously  connected 
with  each  other.  The  first  of  them  comes  from  the 
ancient  times  of  the  institution  of  the  ceremonial 
ritual,  and  describes  a  part  of  the  high  priest's  official 
dress.  In  his  mitre  was  a  thin  plate  of  gold  on  which 
was  written,  '  Holiness  to  the  Lord.'  The  second  of 
them  comes  from  almost  the  last  portion  recorded  of 
the  history  of  Israel  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  from 


152  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxviii. 

the  words  of  the  great  Prophet  of  the  Restoration — 
his  ideal  presentation  of  the  Messianic  period,  in  which 
he  recognises  as  one  feature,  that  the  inscription  on 
the  mitre  of  the  high  priest  shall  be  written  on  'the 
bells  of  the  horses.'  And  the  last  of  them  is  from  the 
closing  vision  of  the  celestial  kingdom,  the  heavenly 
and  perfected  form  of  the  Christian  Church.  John, 
probably  remembering  the  high  priest  and  his  mitre, 
with  its  inscription  upon  the  forehead,  says :  '  His 
servants  shall  do  Him  priestly  service ' — for  that  is  the 
meaning  of  the  word  inadequately  translated  '  serve 
Him' — 'and  see  His  face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in 
their  foreheads.' 

These  three  things,  then — the  high  priest's  mitre,  the 
horses'  bells,  the  foreheads  of  the  perfected  saints — 
present  three  aspects  of  the  Christian  thought  of 
holiness.    Take  them  one  by  one. 

I.  The  high  priest's  mitre. 

The  high  priest  was  the  official  representative  of  the 
nation.  He  stood  before  God  as  the  embodied  and 
personified  Israel.  For  the  purposes  of  worship  Israel 
was  the  high  priest,  and  the  high  priest  was  Israel. 
And  so,  on  his  forehead,  not  to  distinguish  him  from 
the  rest  of  the  people,  but  to  include  all  the  people  in 
his  consecration,  shone  a  golden  plate  with  the  motto, 
'  Holiness  to  the  Lord.'  So,  at  the  very  beginning  of 
Jewish  ritual  there  stands  a  protest  against  all  notions 
that  make  *  saint '  the  designation  of  any  abnormal  or 
exceptional  sanctity,  and  confine  the  name  to  the 
members  of  any  selected  aristocracy  of  devoutness  and 
goodness.  All  Christian  men,  ex  officio,  by  the  very  fact 
of  their  Christianity,  are  saints,  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word.  And  the  representative  of  the  whole  of  Israel 
stood  there  before  God,  with  this  inscription  blazing  on 


V.36]  THREE  INSCRIPTIONS  153 

his  forehead,  as  a  witness  that,  whatsoever  holiness 
may  be,  it  belongs  to  every  member  of  the  true  Israel. 

And  what  is  it  ?  It  is  a  very  unfortunate  thing — 
indicating  superficiality  of  thought — that  the  modern 
popular  notion  of  '  holiness '  identifies  it  with  purity, 
righteousness,  moral  perfection.  Now  that  idea  is  in 
it,  but  is  not  the  whole  of  it.  For,  not  to  spend  time 
upon  mere  remarks  on  words,  the  meaning  of  the 
word  thus  rendered  is  in  Hebrew,  as  well  as  in  Greek 
and  in  our  own  English,  one  and  the  same.  The  root- 
meaning  is  'separated,'  'set  apart,'  and  the  word  ex- 
presses primarily,  not  moral  character,  but  relation  to 
God.  That  makes  all  the  difference ;  and  it  incalculably 
deepens  the  conception,  as  well  as  puts  us  on  the  right 
track  for  understanding  the  only  possible  means  by 
which  there  can  ever  be  realised  that  moral  perfection 
and  excellence  which  has  unfortunately  monopolised 
the  meaning  of  the  word  in  most  people's  minds.  The 
first  thought  is  '  set  apart  to  God.'  That  is  holiness,  in 
its  root  and  germ. 

And  how  can  we  be  set  apart  for  God?  You  may 
devote  a  dead  thing  for  certain  uses  easily  enough. 
How  can  a  man  be  separated  and  laid  aside  ? 

Well,  there  is  only  one  way,  brethren,  and  that  is  by 
self-surrender.  'Yield  yourselves  to  God'  is  but  the 
other  side,  or,  rather,  the  practical  shape,  of  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  holiness.  A  man 
becomes  God's  when  he  says,  'Lord,  take  me  and 
mould  me,  and  fill  me  and  cleanse  me,  and  do  with 
me  what  Thou  wilt.'  In  that  self -surrender,  which  is 
the  tap-root  of  all  holiness,  the  first  and  foremost 
thing  to  be  offered  is  that  most  obstinate  of  all,  the 
will  that  is  in  us.  And  when  we  yield  our  wills  in 
submission  both  to  commandments  and  providences. 


154  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxviii. 

both  to  gifts  and  to  withdrawals,  both  to  gains  and  to 
losses,  both  to  joys  and  to  sorrows,  then  we  begin  to 
write  upon  our  foreheads  '  Holiness  to  the  Lord.'  And 
when  we  go  on  to  yield  our  hearts  to  Him,  by  enshrin- 
ing Him  sole  and  sovereign  in  their  innermost  chamber, 
and  turning  to  Him  the  whole  current  of  our  lives 
and  desires,  and  hopes  and  confidences,  which  we  are 
so  apt  to  allow  to  run  to  waste  and  be  sucked  up  in 
the  desert  sands  of  the  world,  then  we  write  more  of 
that  inscription.  And  when  we  fill  our  minds  with 
joyful  submission  to  His  truth,  and  occupy  our  thoughts 
with  His  mighty  Name  and  His  great  revelation,  and 
carry  Him  with  us  in  the  hidden  corners  of  our  con- 
sciousness, even  whilst  we  are  busy  about  daily  work, 
then  we  add  further  letters  to  it.  And  when  the 
submissive  will,  and  the  devoted  heart,  and  the  occu- 
pied thoughts  are  fully  expressed  in  daily  life  and  its 
various  external  duties,  then  the  writing  is  complete. 
'  Holiness  to  the  Lord '  is  self-surrender  of  will  and 
heart  and  mind  and  everything.  And  that  surrender 
is  of  the  very  essence  of  Christianity. 

What  is  a  saint?  Some  man  or  woman  that  has 
practised  unheard-of  austerities  ?  Somebody  that  has 
lived  an  isolated  and  self -regarding  life  in  convent  or 
monastery  or  desert  ?  No !  a  man  or  woman  in  the 
world  who,  moved  by  the  mercies  of  God,  yields  self 
to  God  as  '  a  living  sacrifice.' 

So  the  New  Testament  writers  never  hesitate  to 
speak  even  of  such  very  imperfect  Christians  as  were 
found  in  abundance  in  churches  like  Corinth  and 
Galatia  as  being  all '  saints,'  every  man  of  them.  That 
is  not  because  the  writers  were  minimising  their  de- 
fects, or  idealising  their  persons,  but  because,  if  they 
are  Christians  at  all,  they  are  saints ;  seeing  that  no 


V.  36]  THREE  INSCRIPTIONS  155 

man  is  a  Christian  who  has  not  been  drawn  by  Christ's 
great  sacrifice  for  him  to  yield  himself  a  sacrifice  for 
Christ. 

Of  course  that  intrusive  idea  which  has,  in  popular 
apprehension,  so  swallowed  up  the  notion  of  holiness— 
viz.  that  of  perfection  of  moral  character  or  conduct- 
is  included  in  this  other,  or  rather  is  developed  from 
it.  For  the  true  way  to  conquer  self  is  to  surrender 
self ;  and  the  more  entire  our  giving  up  of  ourselves,  the 
more  certainly  shall  we  receive  ourselves  back  again 
from  His  hands.  *  By  the  mercies  of  God,  I  beseech 
you,  yield  yourselves  living  sacrifices.' 

II.  I  come  to  my  next  text — the  horses'  bells. 

Zechariah  has  a  vision  of  the  ideal  Messianic  times, 
and,  of  course,  as  must  necessarily  be  the  case,  his 
picture  is  painted  with  colours  laid  upon  his  palette 
by  his  experience,  and  he  depicts  that  distant  future 
in  the  guise  suggested  to  him  by  what  he  saw  around 
him.  So  we  have  to  disentangle  from  his  words  the 
sentiment  which  he  expresses,  and  to  recognise  the 
symbolic  way  in  which  he  puts  it.  His  thought  is 
this, — the  inscription  on  the  high  priest's  mitre  will 
be  written  on  the  bells  which  ornament  the  harness  of 
the  horses,  which  in  Israel  were  never  used  as  with  us, 
but  only  either  for  war  or  for  pomp  and  display,  and 
the  use  of  which  was  always  regarded  with  a  certain 
kind  of  doubt  and  suspicion.  Even  these  shall  be 
consecrated  in  that  far-off  day. 

And  then  he  goes  on  with  variations  on  the  same 
air,  '  In  that  day  there  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of  the 
horses,  "  Holiness  unto  the  Lord," '  and  adds  that  '  the 
pots  in  the  Lord's  house' — the  humble  vessels  that 
were  used  for  the  most  ordinary  parts  of  the  Temple 
services — 'shall  be  like  the  bowls  before  the  altar,' 


156  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxvm. 

into  which  the  sacred  blood  of  the  offerings  was 
poured.  The  most  external  and  secular  thing  bearing 
upon  religion  shall  be  as  sacred  as  the  sacredest.  But 
that  is  not  all.  '  Yea !  every  pot  in  Jerusalem  and  in 
Judah  shall  be  holiness  unto  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and 
all  they  that  sacrifice  shall  come  and  take  of  them,' 
and  put  their  offerings  therein.  That  is  to  say,  the 
coarse  pottery  vessels  that  were  in  every  poverty- 
stricken  house  in  the  city  shall  be  elevated  to  the  rank 
of  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  Temple.  Domestic  life  with 
all  its  secularities  shall  be  hallowed.  The  kitchens  of 
Jerusalem  shall  be  as  truly  places  of  worship  as  is  the 
inner  shrine  of  the  Most  High. 

On  the  whole,  the  prophet's  teaching  is  that,  in 
the  ideal  state  of  man  upon  earth,  there  will  be  an 
entire  abolition  of  the  distinction  between  '  sacred ' 
and  '  secular ' ;  a  distinction  that  has  wrought  infinite 
mischief  in  the  world,  and  in  the  lives  of  Christian 
people. 

Let  me  translate  these  words  of  our  prophet  into 
English  equivalents.  Every  cup  and  tumbler  in  a 
poor  man's  kitchen  may  be  as  sacred  as  the  com- 
munion chalice  that  passes  from  lip  to  lip  with  the 
'  blood  of  Jesus  Christ '  in  it.  Every  common  piece 
of  service  that  we  do,  down  among  the  vulgarities  and 
the  secularities  and  the  meannesses  of  daily  life,  may  be 
lifted  up  to  stand  upon  precisely  the  same  level  as  the 
sacredest  office  that  we  undertake.  The  bells  of  the 
horses  may  jingle  to  the  same  tune  as  the  trumpets 
of  the  priests  sounded  within  the  shrine,  and  on  all, 
great  and  small,  may  be  written, '  Holiness  to  the  Lord.' 

But  let  us  remember  that  that  universally  diffused 
sanctity  will  need  to  have  a  centre  of  diffusion,  else 
there  will  be  no  diffusion,  and  that  all  life  will  become 


V.  36]  THREE  INSCRIPTIONS  157 

sacred  when  the  man  that  lives  it  has  *  Holiness  to 
the  Lord'  written  on  his  forehead,  and  not  else.  If 
that  be  the  inscription  on  the  driver's  heart,  the 
horses  that  he  drives  will  have  it  written  on  their 
bells,  but  they  will  not  have  it  unless  it  be.  Holy  men 
make  all  things  holy.  '  To  the  pure  all  things  are 
pure,'  but  unto  them  that  are  unclean  and  disobedient 
there  is  nothing  pure.  Hallow  thyself,  and  all  things 
are  clean  unto  thee. 

III.  And  so  I  come  to  my  third  text — the  perfected 
saints'  foreheads. 

The  connection  between  the  first  and  the  last  of 
these  texts  is  as  plain  and  close  as  between  the  first 
and  the  second.  For  John  in  his  closing  vision  gives 
emphasis  to  the  priestly  idea  as  designating  in  its 
deepest  relations  the  redeemed  and  perfected  Christian 
Church.  Therefore  he  says,  as  I  have  already  ex- 
plained, •  His  servants  shall  do  Him  priestly  service, 
and  His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads.'  The  old 
official  dress  of  the  high  priest  comes  into  his  mind, 
and  he  paints  the  future,  just  as  Zechariah  did,  under 
the  forms  of  the  past,  and  sees  before  the  throne  the 
perfected  saints,  each  man  of  them  with  that  inscrip- 
tion clear  and  conspicuous. 

But  there  is  an  advance  in  his  words  which  I  think 
it  is  not  fanciful  to  note.  It  is  only  the  name  that  is 
written  in  the  perfected  saint's  forehead.  Not  the 
'  Holiness  unto  the  Lord,'  but  just  the  bare  name. 
What  does  that  mean?  Well,  it  means  the  same  as 
your  writing  your  name  in  one  of  your  books  does, 
or  as  when  a  man  puts  his  initials  on  the  back  of  his 
oxen,  or  as  the  old  practice  of  branding  the  master's 
mark  upon  the  slave  did.  It  means  absolute  owner- 
ship. 


15^  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [cH.xxvin. 

But  it  means  something  more.  The  name  is  the 
manifested  personality,  the  revealed  God,  or,  as  we 
say  in  an  abstract  way,  the  character  of  God.  That 
Name  is  to  be  in  the  foreheads  of  His  perfected  people. 
How  does  it  come  to  be  there  ?  Read  also  the  clause 
before  the  text — '  His  servants  shall  see  His  face,  and 
His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads.'  That  is  to  say, 
the  perfected  condition  is  not  reached  by  surrender  only, 
but  by  assimilation;  and  that  assimilation  comes  by 
contemplation.  The  faces  that  are  turned  to  Him,  and 
behold  Him,  are  smitten  with  the  light  and  shine,  and 
those  that  look  upon  them  see  '  as  it  had  been  the  face 
of  an  angel,'  as  the  Sanhedrim  saw  that  of  Stephen, 
when  he  beheld  the  Son  of  Man  *  standing  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.' 

My  last  text  is  but  a  picturesque  way  of  saying  what 
the  writer  of  it  says  in  plain  words  when  he  declares, 

•  We  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.' 
The  name  is  to  be  '  in  their  foreheads,'  where  every 
eye  can  see  it.  Alas !  alas !  it  is  so  hard  for  us  to 
live  out  our  best  selves,  and  to  show  to  the  world  what 
is  in  us.  Cowardice,  sheepishness,  and  a  hundred  other 
reasons  prevent  it.  In  this  poor  imperfect  state  no 
emotion  ever  takes  shape  and  visibility  without  losing 
more  or  less  of  its  beauty.  But  yonder  the  obstruc- 
tions to    self -manifestation   will  be  done  away;  and 

•  when  He  shall  be  manifested,  we  also  shall  be  mani- 
fested with  Him  in  glory.' 

•  Then  shall  the  righteous  blaze  forth  like  the  sun  in 
My  heavenly  Father's  Kingdom.'  But  the  beginning 
of  it  all  is  •  Holiness  to  the  Lord '  written  on  our 
hearts ;  and  the  end  of  that  is  the  vision  which  is 
impossible  without  holiness,  and  which  leads  on  to  the 
beholder's  perfect  likeness  to  his  Lord. 


THE  ALTAR  OF  INCENSE 

Thou  Shalt  make  an  altar  to  bum  incense  upon.'— Exodus  xxx.  L 

Ceremonies  are  embodied  thoughts.  Religious  cere- 
monies are  moulded  by,  and  seek  to  express,  the  wor- 
shipper's conception  of  his  God,  and  his  own  relation  to 
Him;  his  aspirations  and  his  need.  Of  late  years 
scholars  have  been  busy  studying  the  religions  of  the 
more  backward  races,  and  explaining  rude  and  repul- 
sive rites  by  pointing  to  the  often  profound  and 
sometimes  beautiful  ideas  underlying  them.  When 
that  process  is  applied  to  Australian  and  Fijian  savages, 
it  is  honoured  as  a  new  and  important  study ;  when  we 
apply  it  to  the  Mosaic  Ritual  it  is  pooh-poohed  as 
*  foolish  spiritualising.'  Now,  no  doubt,  there  has  been 
a  great  deal  of  nonsense  talked  in  regard  to  this  matter, 
and  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity  wasted  in  giving  a 
Christian  meaning — or,  may  I  say,  a  Christian  twist  ? — 
to  every  pin  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  every  detail  of  the 
ritual.  Of  course,  to  exaggerate  a  truth  is  the  surest 
way  to  discredit  a  truth,  but  the  truth  remains  true  all 
the  same,  and  underneath  that  elaborate  legislation, 
which  makes  such  wearisome  and  profitless  reading 
for  the  most  of  us,  in  the  Pentateuch,  there  lie,  if  we 
can  only  grasp  them,  great  thoughts  and  lessons  that 
we  shall  all  be  the  better  for  pondering. 

To  one  item  of  these,  this  altar  of  incense,  I  call 
attention  now,  because  it  is  rich  in  suggestions,  and 
leads  us  into  very  sacred  regions  of  the  Christian 
life  which  are  by  no  means  so  familiar  to  many  of  us 
as  they  ought  to  be.  Let  me  just  for  one  momjnt 
state  the  facts  with  which  I  wish  to  deal.    The  Jewish 

169 


160  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xxx. 

Tabernacle,  and  subsequently  the  Temple,  were  arranged 
in  three  compartments :  the  outermost  court,  which 
was  accessible  to  all  the  people  ;  the  second,  which  was 
trodden  by  the  priests  alone ;  and  the  third,  where  the 
Shechinah  dwelt  in  solitude,  broken  only  once  a  year  by 
the  foot  of  the  High  Priest.  That  second  court  we  are 
concerned  with  now.  There  are  three  pieces  of  ecclesi- 
astical furniture  in  it :  an  altar  in  the  centre,  flanked 
on  either  side  by  a  great  lampstand,  and  a  table  on 
which  were  piled  loaves.  It  is  to  that  central  piece  of 
furniture  that  I  ask  your  attention  now,  and  to  the 
thoughts  that  underlie  it,  and  the  lessons  that  it 
teaches. 

I.  This  altar  shows  us  what  prayer  is. 

Suppose  we  had  been  in  that  court  when  in  the 
morning  or  in  the  evening  the  priest  came  with  the 
glowing  pan  of  coals  from  another  altar  in  the  outer 
court,  and  laid  it  on  this  altar,  and  heaped  upon  it  the 
sticks  of  incense,  we  should  have  seen  the  curling, 
fragrant  wreaths  ascending  till  '  the  House  was  filled 
with  smoke,'  as  a  prophet  once  saw  it.  We  should  not 
have  wanted  any  interpreter  to  tell  us  what  that  meant. 
What  could  that  rising  cloud  of  sweet  odours  signify 
but  the  ascent  of  the  soul  towards  God?  Put  that 
into  more  abstract  words,  and  it  is  just  the  old, 
hackneyed  commonplace  which  I  seek  to  try  to  freshen 
a  little  now,  that  incense  is  the  symbol  of  prayer. 
That  that  is  so  is  plain  enough,  not  only  from  the 
natural  propriety  of  the  case,  but  because  you  find  the 
identification  distinctly  stated  in  several  places  in 
Scripture,  of  which  I  quote  but  two  instances.  In  one 
psalm  we  read,  'Let  my  prayer  come  before  Thee  as 
incense.'  In  the  Book  of  the  Apocalypse  we  read  of 
•  golden  bowls  full  of  odours,  which  are  the  prayers  of 


V.  ij         THE  ALTAR  OP  INCENSE  161 

saints.'  And  that  the  symbolism  was  understood  by, 
and  modified  the  practice  of,  the  nation,  we  are  taught 
when  we  read  that  whilst  Zechariah  the  priest  was 
within  the  court  offering  incense,  as  it  was  his  lot  to 
do,  •  the  whole  multitude  of  the  people  were  without 
praying,'  doing  that  which  the  priest  within  the  court 
symbolised  by  his  offering.  So  then  we  come  to  this, 
dear  friends,  that  we  fearfully  misunderstand  and  limit 
the  nobleness  and  the  essential  character  of  prayer 
when,  as  we  are  always  tempted  to  do  by  our  inherent 
self-regard,  we  make  petition  its  main  feature  and 
form.  Of  course,  so  long  as  we  are  what  we  shall 
always  be  in  this  world,  needy  and  sinful  creatures; 
and  so  long  as  we  are  what  we  shall  ever  be  in  all 
worlds,  creatures  absolutely  dependent  for  life  and 
everything  on  the  will  and  energy  of  God,  petition 
must  necessarily  be  a  very  large  part  of  prayer.  But 
the  more  we  grow  into  His  likeness,  and  the  more  we 
understand  the  large  privileges  and  the  glorious  possi- 
bilities which  lie  in  prayer,  the  more  will  the  relative 
proportions  of  its  component  parts  be  changed,  and 
petition  will  become  less,  and  aspiration  will  become 
more.  The  essence  of  prayer,  the  noblest  form  of  it,  is 
thus  typified  by  the  cloud  of  sweet  odours  that  went 
up  before  God. 

In  all  true  prayer  there  must  be  the  lowest  prostra- 
tion in  reverence  before  the  Infinite  Majesty.  But  the 
noblest  prayer  is  that  which  lifts  '  them  that  are  bowed 
down '  rather  than  that  which  prostrates  men  before 
an  inaccessible  Deity.  And  so,  whilst  we  lie  low  at  His 
feet,  that  may  be  the  prayer  of  a  mere  theist,  but  when 
our  hearts  go  out  towards  Him,  and  we  are  drawn  to 
Himself,  that  is  the  prayer  that  befits  Christian  aspira- 
tion; the  ascent  of  the  soul  toward  God  is  the  true 

L 


162  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xxx. 

essence  of  prayer.  As  one  of  the  non-Christian  philo- 
sophers— seekers  after  God,  if  ever  there  were  such,  and 
who,  I  doubt  not,  found  Him  whom  they  sought — has 
put  it,  '  the  flight  of  the  lonely  soul  to  the  only  God ' ; 
that  is  prayer.  Is  that  my  prayer  ?  We  come  to  Him 
many  a  time  burdened  with  some  very  real  sorrow,  or 
weighted  with  some  pressing  responsibility,  and  we 
should  not  be  true  to  ourselves,  or  to  Him,  if  our  prayer 
did  not  take  the  shape  of  petition.  But,  as  we  pray,  the 
blessing  of  the  transformation  of  its  character  should 
be  realised  by  us,  and  that  which  began  with  the  cry 
for  help  and  deliverance  should  always  be,  and  it 
always  will  be,  if  the  cry  for  help  and  deliverance  has 
been  of  the  right  sort,  sublimed  into  •  Thy  face.  Lord, 
will  I  seek.'  The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  describes  death 
as  the  *  return  of  the  spirit  to  God  who  gave  it.'  That 
is  the  true  description  of  prayer,  a  going  back  to  the 
fountain's  source.  Flames  aspire ;  to  the  place  *  whence 
the  rivers  came  thither  they  return  again.'  The  homing 
pigeon  or  the  migrating  bird  goes  straight  through 
many  degrees  of  latitude,  and  across  all  sorts  of  weather, 
to  the  place  whence  it  came.  Ah  !  brethren,  let  us  ask 
ourselves  if  our  spirits  thus  aspire  and  soar.  Do  we 
know  what  it  is  to  be,  if  I  might  so  say,  like  those 
captive  balloons  that  are  ever  yearning  upwards,  and 
stretching  to  the  loftiest  point  permitted  them  by  the 
cord  that  tethers  them  to  earth  ? 

Now  another  thought  that  this  altar  of  incense  may 
teach  us  is  that  the  prayer  that  soars  must  be  kindled. 
There  is  no  fragrance  in  a  stick  of  incense  lying  there. 
No  wreaths  of  ascending  smoke  come  from  it.  It  has 
to  be  kindled  before  its  sweet  odour  can  be  set  free  and 
ascend.  That  is  why  so  much  of  our  prayer  is  of  no 
delight  to  God,  and  of  no  benefit  to  us,  because  it  is  not 


v.l]  THE  ALTAR  OF  INCENSE  163 

on  fire  with  the  flame  of  a  heart  kindled  into  love  and 
thankfulness  by  the  great  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  cold  vapours  lie  like  a  winding-sheet  down  in  the 
valleys  until  the  sun  smites  them,  warms  them,  and 
draws  them  up.  And  our  desires  will  hover  in  the  low 
levels,  and  be  dank  and  damp,  until  they  are  drawn  up 
to  the  heights  by  the  warmth  of  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness. Oh !  brethren,  the  formality  and  the  coldness,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  inconsecutiveness  and  the  interrup- 
tedness  by  rambling  thoughts  that  we  all  know  in  our 
petitions,  in  our  aspirations,  are  only  to  be  cured  in  one 
way: — 

•  Come  1  shed  abroad  a  Saviour's  love, 
And  that  will  kindle  ours.' 

It  is  the  stretched  string  that  gives  out  musical 
notes ;  the  slack  one  is  dumb.  And  if  we  desire  that  we 
may  be  able  to  be  sure,  as  our  Master  was,  when  He 
said,  •  I  know  that  Thou  hearest  me  always,'  we  must 
pray  as  He  did,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that '  He  prayed 
the  more  earnestly,'  and  '  was  heard  in  that  He  feared.' 
The  word  rendered  '  the  more  earnestly '  carries  in  it  a 
metaphor  drawn  from  that  very  fact  that  I  have  re- 
ferred to.  It  means  '  with  the  more  stretched-out 
extension  and  intensity.'  If  our  prayers  are  to  be 
heard  as  music  in  heaven,  they  must  come  from  a 
stretched  string. 

Once  more,  this  altar  of  incense  teaches  us  that 
kindled  prayer  delights  God.  That  emblem  of  the 
sweet  odour  is  laid  hold  of  with  great  boldness  by  more 
than  one  Old  and  New  Testament  writer,  in  order  to 
express  the  marvellous  thought  that  there  is  a  mutual 
joy  in  the  prayer  of  faith  and  love,  and  that  it  I'ises  as 
•  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smeU,  a  sacrifice  acceptable,  well 
pleasing  to  God.'    The  cuneifornx  inscriptions  give  that 


164  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xxx. 

thought  with  characteristic  vividness  and  grossness 
when  they  speak  about  the  gods  being  *  gathered  like 
flies  round  the  steam  of  the  sacrifice.'  We  have  the  same 
thought,  freed  from  all  its  grossness,  when  we  think 
that  the  curling  wreaths  going  up  from  a  heart  aspiring 
and  enflamed,  come  to  Him  as  a  sweet  odour,  and 
delight  His  soul.  People  say,  'that  is  anthropomor- 
phism— making  God  too  like  a  man.'  Well,  man  is 
like  God,  at  any  rate,  and  surely  the  teaching  of  that 
great  name  '  Father '  carries  with  it  the  assurance  that 
just  as  fathers  of  flesh  are  glad  when  they  see  that 
their  children  like  best  to  be  with  them,  so  there  is 
something  analogous  in  that  joy  before  the  angels  of 
heaven  which  the  Father  has,  not  only  because  of  the 
prodigal  who  comes  back,  but  because  of  the  child  who 
has  long  been  with  Him,  and  is  ever  seeking  to  nestle 
closer  to  His  heart.  The  Psalmist  was  lost  in  wonder 
and  thankfulness  that  he  was  able  to  say  '  He  was  ex- 
tolled with  my  tongue.'  Surely  it  should  be  a  gracious, 
encouraging,  strengthening  thought  to  us  all,  that 
even  our  poor  aspirations  may  minister  to  the  divine 
gladness. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  another  thought. 

II.  This  altar  shows  us  where  prayer  stands  in  the 
Christian  life. 

There  are  two  or  three  points  in  regard  to  its  posi- 
tion which  it  is  no  fanciful  spiritualising,  but  simply 
grasping  the  underlying  meaning  of  the  institution,  if 
we  emphasise.  First,  let  me  remind  you  that  there 
was  another  altar  in  the  outer  court,  whereon  was 
offered  the  daily  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 
That  altar  came  first,  and  the  sacrifice  had  to  be  offered 
on  it  first,  before  the  priest  came  into  the  inner  court 
with  the  coals  from  that  altar,  and  the  incense  kindled 


V.  1]  THE  ALTAR  OF  INCENSE  165 

by  them.  What  does  that  say  to  us?  The  altar  of 
incense  is  not  approached  until  we  have  been  to  the 
altar  of  sacrifice.  It  is  no  mere  arbitrary  appointment, 
nor  piece  of  evangelical  narrowness,  which  says  that 
there  is  no  real  access  to  God,  in  all  the  fullness  and 
reality  of  His  revealed  character  for  us  sinful  men, 
until  our  sins  have  been  dealt  with,  taken  away  by  the 
Lamb  of  God,  sacrificed  for  us.  And  it  is  simply  the 
transcript  of  experience  which  declares  that  there  will 
be  little  inclination  or  desire  to  come  to  God  with  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  and  prayer  until  we  have  been 
to  Christ,  the  sacrifice  of  propitiation  and  pardon. 
Brethren,  we  need  to  be  cleansed,  and  we  can  only  be 
delivered  from  the  unholiness  which  is  the  perpetual 
and  necessary  barrier  to  our  vision  of  God  by  making 
our  very  own,  through  simple  faith,  the  energy  and 
the  blessedness  of  that  great  Sacrifice  of  propitiation. 
Then,  and  then  only,  do  we  properly  come  to  the  altar 
of  incense.  Its  place  in  the  Christian  life  is  second,  not 
first.  *  First  be  reconciled  to  thy '  Father,  '  then  lay  * 
the  incense  *  on  the  altar.' 

Again,  great  and  deep  lessons  are  given  to  us  in  the 
place  of  our  altar  in  regard  to  the  other  articles  that 
stood  in  that  inner  court.  I  have  said  that  there  were 
three  of  them.  In  the  centre  this  altar  of  incense ;  on 
the  one  hand  the  great  lampstand ;  on  the  other  hand 
the  table  with  loaves  thereon.  The  one  symbolised 
Israel's  function  in  the  world  to  be  its  light,  which  is 
our  function  too,  and  the  other  with  loaves  thereon 
symbolised  the  consecration  to  God  of  Israel's  activities, 
and  their  results. 

But  between  the  two,  central  to  both,  stood  the  altar 
of  incense.  What  does  that  say  as  to  the  place  of 
prayer,  defined  as  I  have  defined  it,  in  the  Christian 


166  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [oh.xxx. 

life  ?  It  says  this,  that  the  light  will  burn  dim  and  go 
out,  and  the  loaves,  the  expression  and  the  consequences 
of  our  activities,  will  become  mouldy  and  dry,  unless 
both  are  hallowed  and  sustained  by  prayer.  And  that 
lesson  is  one  which  we  all  need,  and  which  I  suppose 
this  generation  needs  quite  as  much  as,  if  not  more 
than,  any  that  has  gone  before  it.  For  life  has  be- 
come so  swift  and  rushing,  and  from  all  sides,  the 
Church,  the  world,  society,  there  come  such  tempta- 
tions, and  exhortations,  and  necessities,  for  strenuous 
and  continuous  work,  that  the  basis  of  all  wholesome 
and  vigorous  work,  communion  with  God,  is  but  too 
apt  to  be  put  aside  and  relegated  to  some  inferior  posi- 
tion. The  carbon  points  of  the  electric  arc-light  are 
eaten  away  with  tremendous  rapidity  in  the  very  act 
of  giving  forth  their  illumination,  and  they  need  to  be 
continually  approximated  and  to  be  frequently  re- 
newed. The  oil  is  burned  away  in  the  act  of  shining, 
and  the  lamp  needs  to  be  charged  again.  If  we  are  to 
do  our  work  in  the  world  as  its  lights,  and  if  we  are  to 
have  any  activities  fit  to  be  consecrated  to  God  and 
laid  on  the  Table  before  the  Veil,  it  can  only  be  by  our 
making  the  altar  of  incense  the  centre,  and  these  others 
subsidiary. 

One  last  thought — the  place  of  prayer  in  the  Christian 
life  is  shadowed  for  us  by  the  position  of  this  altar  in 
reference  to  *  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,'  that 
mysterious  inner  court  which  was  dark  but  for  the 
Shechinah's  light,  and  lonely  but  for  the  presence  of  the 
worshipping  cherubim  and  the  worshipped  God.  It 
stood,  as  we  are  told  a  verse  or  two  after  my  text, 
•  before  the  veil.'  A  straight  line  drawn  from  the  altar 
of  sacrifice  would  have  bisected  the  altar  of  incense  as 
it  passed  into  the  mercy-seat  and  the  glory.    And  that 


V.  1]  THE  ALTAR  OF  INCENSE  167 

just  tells  us  that  the  place  of  prayer  in  the  Christian 
lift  is  that  it  is  the  direct  way  of  coming  close  to  God. 
Dear  brother,  we  shall  never  lift  the  veil,  and  stand  in 
*  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,'  unless  we  take  the 
altar  of  incense  on  our  road. 

There  is  one  more  thought  here — 

III.  The  altar  of  incense  shows  us  how  prayer  is  to 
be  cultivated. 

Twice  a  day,  morning  and  evening,  came  the  officiat- 
ing priest  with  his  pan  of  -coals  and  incense,  and  laid  it 
there ;  and  during  all  the  intervening  hours  between 
the  morning  and  the  evening  the  glow  lay  half  hidden 
in  the  incense,  and  there  was  a  faint  but  continual 
emission  of  fragrance  from  the  smouldering  mass  that 
had  been  renewed  in  the  morning,  and  again  in  the 
evening.  And  does  not  that  say  something  to  us? 
There  must  be  definite  times  of  distinct  prayer  if  the 
aroma  of  devotion  is  to  be  diffused  through  our  else 
scentless  days.  I  ask  for  no  pedantic  adherence,  with 
monastic  mechanicalness,  to  hours  and  times,  and 
forms  of  petitions.  These  are  needful  crutches  to  many 
of  us.  But  what  I  do  maintain  is  that  all  that  talk 
which  we  hear  so  much  of  in  certain  quarters  nowa- 
days as  to  its  not  being  necessary  for  us  to  have  special 
times  of  prayer,  and  as  to  its  being  far  better  to  have 
devotion  diffused  through  our  lives,  and  of  how  laborare 
est  orare — to  labour  is  to  pray — all  that  is  pernicious 
nonsense  if  it  is  meant  to  say  that  the  incense  will  be 
fragrant  and  smoulder  unless  it  is  stirred  up  and 
renewed  night  and  morning.  There  must  be  definite 
times  of  prayer  if  there  is  to  be  diffused  devotion 
through  the  day.  What  would  you  think  of  people 
that  said,  *  Run  your  cars  by  electricity.  Get  it  out  of 
the  wires ;  it  will  come !    Never  mind  putting  up  any 


168  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS     [ch.xxx. 

generating  stations'?  And  not  less  foolish  are  they 
who  seek  for  a  devotion  permeating  life  which  is  not 
often  concentrated  into  definite  and  specific  acts. 

But  the  other  side  is  as  true.  It  is  bad  to  clot  your 
religion  into  lumps,  and  to  leave  the  rest  of  the  life 
without  it.  There  must  be  the  smouldering  all  day 
long.  '  Rejoice  evermore ;  pray  without  ceasing.'  You 
can  pray  thus.  Not  set  prayer,  of  course ;  but  a  refer- 
ence to  Him,  a  thought  of  Him,  like  some  sweet 
melody,  '  so  sweet  we  know  not  we  are  listening  to  it,' 
may  breathe  its  fragrance,  and  diffuse  its  warmth  into 
the  commonest  and  smallest  of  our  daily  activities.  It 
was  when  Gideon  was  threshing  wheat  that  the  angel 
appeared  to  him.  It  was  when  Elisha  was  ploughing 
that  the  divine  inspiration  touched  him.  It  was  when 
the  disciples  were  fishing  that  they  saw  the  Form  on 
the  shore.  And  when  we  are  in  the  way  of  our  common 
life  it  is  possible  that  the  Lord  may  meet  us,  and  that 
our  souls  may  be  aspiring  to  Him.  Then  work  will  be 
worship ;  then  burdens  will  be  lightened ;  then  our 
lamps  will  burn ;  then  the  fruits  of  our  daily  lives  will 
ripen  ;  then  our  lives  will  be  noble  ;  then  our  spirits  will 
rest  as  well  as  soar,  and  find  fruition  and  aspiration 
perpetually  alternating  in  stable  succession  of  eternal 
progress. 


RANSOM  FOR  SOULS— I. 

'  Then  shall  they  give  every  man  a  ransom  for  his  sonl.'— Exodus  xxx.  12. 

This  remarkable  provision  had  a  religious  intention. 
Connect  it  with  the  tax-money  which  Peter  found  in 
the  fish's  mouth. 


V.12]  RANSOM  FOR  SOULS  169 

I.  Its  meaning.  Try  to  realise  an  Israelite's  thoughts 
at  the  census.  'I  am  enrolled  among  the  people  and 
army  of  God :  am  I  worthy  ?  What  am  I,  to  serve  so 
holy  a  God  ? '    The  payment  was  meant — 

(a)  To  excite  the  sense  of  sin.  This  should  be  present 
in  all  approach  to  God,  in  all  service;  accompanying 
the  recognition  of  our  Christian  standing.  Our  sense 
of  sin  is  far  too  slight  and  weak ;  this  defect  is  at  the 
root  of  much  feebleness  in  popular  religion.  The  sense 
of  sin  must  embrace  not  outward  acts  only,  but  inner 
spirit  also. 

(6)  To  suggest  the  possibility  of  expiation.  It  was 
'ransom,'  i.e.  'covering,'  something  paid  that  guilt 
might  be  taken  away  and  sin  regarded  as  non-existent. 
This  is,  of  course,  obviously,  only  a  symbol.  No  tax 
could  satisfy  God  for  sin.  The  very  smallness  of  the 
amount  shows  that  it  is  symbolical  only.  'Not  with 
corruptible  things  as  silver '  is  man  redeemed. 

IT.  Its  identity  for  all.  Rich  or  poor,  high  or  low, 
all  men  are  equal  in  sin.  There  are  surface  differences 
and  degrees,  but  a  deep  identity  beneath.  So  on 
the  same  principle  all  souls  are  of  the  same  value. 
Here  is  the  true  democracy  of  Christianity.  So  there 
is  one  ransom  for  all,  for  the  need  of  all  is  identical. 

III.  Its  use.  It  was  melted  down  for  use  in  the 
sanctuary,  so  as  to  be  a  'memorial'  permanently  present 
to  God  when  His  people  met  with  Him.  The  greater 
portion  was  made  into  bases  for  the  boards  of  the 
sanctuary.  That  is,  God's  dwelling  with  men  and  our 
communion  with  Him  all  rest  on  the  basis  of  ransom. 
We  are  '  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ.' 


RANSOM  FOR  SOULS— IL 

'The  rich  shall  not  give  more,  and  the  poor  shall  nob  give  less  than  hsJf  a 
shekel.  .  .  .'—Exodus  xxx.  15. 

This  tax  was  exacted  on  numbering  the  people.  It 
was  a  very  small  amount,  about  fifteen  pence,  so  it  was 
clearly  symbolical  in  its  significance.    Notice — 

I.  The  broad  principle  of  equality  of  all  souls  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Contrast  the  reign  of  caste  and  class  in 
heathendom  with  the  democracy  of  Judaism  and  of 
Christianity. 

II.  The  universal  sinfulness.  Payment  of  the  tax 
was  a  confession  that  all  were  alike  in  this :  not  that 
all  were  equally  sinful,  but  all  were  sinful,  whatever 
variations  of  degree  might  exist. 

'  There  is  no  difference,  for  all  have  sinned  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God.' 

III.  The  one  ransom.  It  was  a  prophecy  of  which 
we  know  the  meaning.     Recall    the  incident  of  the 

•  stater '  in  the  fish's  mouth. 

Christ  declares  His  exemption  from  the  tax.  Yet  He 
voluntarily  comes  under  it,  and  He  provides  the  pay- 
ment of  it  for  Himself  and  for  Peter. 

He  does  so  by  a  miracle. 

The  Apostle  has  to  'take  and  give  it*;  so  faith  is 
called  into  exercise. 

Thus  there  is  but  one  Sacrifice  for  all ;  and  the  poorest 
can  exercise  faith  and  the  richest  can  do  no  more. 

*  None  other  name.* 


170 


THE  GOLDEN  CALF 

'And  when  the  people  saw  that  Moses  delayed  to  come  down  out  of  the  monnt, 
the  people  gathered  themselves  together  unto  Aaron,  and  said  unto  him,  Up, 
make  us  gods,  which  shall  go  before  us;  for  as  for  this  Moses,  the  man  that 
brought  us  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  what  is  become  of  him. 

2.  And  Aaron  said  unto  them,  Break  off  the  golden  earrings,  which  are  in  the 
ears  of  your  wives,  of  your  sons,  and  of  your  daughters,  and  bring  them  unto  me. 

3.  And  all  the  people  brake  off  the  golden  earrings  which  were  in  their  ears,  and 
brought  them  unto  Aaron,  i.  And  he  received  them  at  their  hand,  and  fashioned 
it  with  a  graving-tool,  after  he  had  made  it  a  molten  calf:  and  they  said.  These 
be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  5.  And 
when  Aaron  saw  it,  he  built  an  altar  before  it ;  and  Aaron  made  proclamation, 
and  said,  To-morrow  is  a  feast  to  the  Lord.  6.  And  they  rose  up  early  on  the 
morrow,  and  offered  burnt  offerings,  and  brought  peace  offerings ;  and  the  people 
gat  down  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play.  7.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  Go,  get  thee  down ;  for  thy  people,  which  thou  broughtest  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  have  corrupted  themselves :  8.  They  have  turned  aside  quickly  out  of 
the  way  which  I  commanded  them :  they  have  made  them  a  molten  calf,  and 
have  worshipped  it,  and  have  sacrificed  thereunto,  and  said.  These  be  thy  gods, 
O  Israel,  which  have  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  ...  30.  And  it 
came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  Moses  said  unto  the  people.  Ye  have  sinned  a 
great  sin :  and  now  I  will  go  up  unto  the  Lord ;  peradventure  I  shall  make  an 
atonement  for  your  sin.  31.  And  Moses  returned  unto  the  Lord,  and  said.  Oh  I 
this  people  hare  sinned  a  great  sin,  and  have  made  them  gods  of  gold.  32.  Yet 
now,  if  Thou  wilt  forgive  their  sin—;  and  if  not,  blot  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  Thy 
book  which  Thou  hast  written.  33.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Whosoever 
hath  sinned  against  Me,  him  will  I  blot  out  of  My  book.  31.  Therefore  now  go, 
lead  the  people  unto  the  place  of  which  I  have  spoken  unto  thee.  Behold,  Mine 
Angel  shall  go  before  thee :  nevertheless  in  the  day  when  I  visit  I  will  visit  their 
sin  upon  them.  35.  And  the  Lord  plagued  the  people,  because  they  made  the 
calf,  which  Aaron  made.'— Exodus  xxxii.  1-8 ;  30-35. 

It  was  not  yet  six  weeks  since  the  people  had  sworn, 
'All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  will  we  do,  and  be 
obedient.'  The  blood  of  the  covenant,  sprinkled  on 
them,  was  scarcely  dry  when  they  flung  off  allegiance 
to  Jehovah.  Such  short-lived  loyalty  to  Him  can  never 
have  been  genuine.  That  mob  of  slaves  was  galvan- 
ised by  Moses  into  obedience;  and  since  their  accept- 
ance of  Jehovah  was  in  reality  only  yielding  to  the 
power  of  one  strong  will  and  its  earnest  faith,  of 
course  it  collapsed  as  soon  as  Moses  disappeared. 

We  have  to  note,  first,  the  people's  universal  revolt. 
The  language  of  verse  1  may  easily  hide  to  a  careless 
reader  the  gravity  and  unanimity  of  the  apostasy. 

in 


172  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS    [ch.  xxxii. 

'The  people  gathered  themselves  together,'  It  was 
a  national  rebellion,  a  flood  which  swept  away  even 
some  faithful,  timid  hearts.  No  voices  ventured  to 
protest.  What  were  the  elders,  who  shortly  before 
'saw  the  God  of  Israel,'  doing  to  be  passive  at  such 
a  crisis  ?  Was  there  no  one  to  bid  the  fickle  multitude 
look  up  to  the  summit  overhead,  where  the  red  flames 
glowed,  or  to  remind  them  of  the  hosts  of  Egypt 
lying  stark  and  dead  on  the  shore  ?  Was  Miriam 
cowed  too,  and  her  song  forgotten  ? 

We  need  not  cast  stones  at  these  people ;  for  we 
also  have  short  memories  for  either  the  terrible  or 
the  gracious  revelations  of  God  in  our  own  lives.  But 
we  may  learn  the  lesson  that  God's  lovers  have  to 
set  themselves  sometimes  dead  against  the  rush  of 
popular  feeling,  and  that  there  are  times  when  silence 
or  compliance  is  sin. 

It  would  have  been  easy  for  the  rebels  to  have 
ignored  Aaron,  and  made  gods  for  themselves.  But 
they  desired  to  involve  him  in  their  apostasy,  and  to 
get  '  official  sanction '  for  it.  He  had  been  left  by 
Moses  as  his  lieutenant,  and  so  to  get  him  implicated 
was  to  stamp  the  movement  as  a  regular  and  entire 
revolt. 

The  demand  'to  make  gods*  (or,  more  probably,  *a 
god')  flew  in  the  face  of  both  the  first  and  second 
commandments.  For  Jehovah,  who  had  forbidden 
the  forming  of  any  image,  was  denied  in  the  act  of 
making  it.  To  disobey  Him  was  to  cast  Him  off.  The 
ground  of  the  rebellion  was  the  craving  for  a  visible 
object  of  trust  and  a  visible  guide,  as  is  seen  by  the 
reason  assigned  for  the  demand  for  an  image.  Moses 
was  out  of  sight;  they  must  have  something  to  look 
at  as  their  leader.    Moses  had  disappeared,  and,  to 


vs.  1-8;  30-35]  THE  GOLDEN  CALF  173 

these  people  who  had  only  been  heaved  up  to  the 
height  of  believing  in  Jehovah  by  Moses,  Jehovah  had 
disappeared  with  him.  They  sank  down  again  to  the 
level  of  other  races  as  soon  as  that  strong  lever  ceased 
to  lift  their  heavy  apprehensions. 

How  ridiculous  the  assertion  that  they  did  not  know 
what  had  become  of  Moses !  They  knew  that  he  was 
up  there  with  Jehovah.  The  eiders  could  have  told 
them  that.  The  fire  on  the  mount  might  have  burned 
in  on  all  minds  the  confirmation.  Note,  too,  the  black 
ingratitude  and  plain  denial  of  Jehovah  in  'the  man 
that  brought  us  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.'  They 
refuse  to  recognise  God's  part.  It  was  Moses  only 
who  had  done  it ;  and  now  that  he  is  gone  they  must 
have  a  visible  god,  like  other  nations. 

Still  sadder  than  their  sense-bound  wish  is  Aaron's 
compliance.  He  knew  as  well  as  we  do  what  he  should 
have  said,  but,  like  many  another  man  in  influential 
position,  when  beset  by  popular  cries,  he  was  frightened, 
and  yielded  when  he  should  have  '  set  his  face  like  a 
flint.'  His  compliance  has  in  essentials  been  often 
repeated,  especially  by  priests  and  ministers  of  religion 
who  have  lent  their  superior  abilities  or  opportunities 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  ignorant  populace,  and 
debased  religion  or  watered  down  its  prohibitions,  to 
please  and  retain  hold  of  them.  The  Church  has  in- 
corporated much  from  heathenism.  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries  have  permitted  '  converts '  to  keep  their 
old  usages.  Protestant  teachers  have  acquiesced  in, 
and  been  content  to  find  the  brains  to  carry  out,  com- 
promises between  sense  and  soul,  God's  commands  and 
men's  inclinations. 

We  need  not  discuss  the  metallurgy  of  verse  4. 
But  clearly  Aaron    asked   for    the  earrings,  not,   as 


174  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxxiii. 

some  would  have  it,  hoping  that  vanity  and  covet- 
ousness  would  hinder  their  being  given,  but  simply 
in  order  to  get  gold  for  the  bad  work  which  he  was 
ready  to  do.  The  reason  for  making  the  thing  in 
the  shape  of  a  calf  is  probably  the  Egyptian  worship 
of  Apis  in  that  form,  which  would  be  familiar  to  the 
people. 

We  must  note  that  it  was  the  people  who  said, 
•These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel!'  Aaron  seems  to  keep 
in  the  rear,  as  it  were.  He  makes  the  calf,  and  hands 
it  over,  and  leaves  them  to  hail  it  and  worship.  Like 
all  cowards,  he  thought  that  he  was  lessening  his 
guilt  by  thus  keeping  in  the  background.  Feeble 
natures  are  fond  of  such  subterfuges,  and  deceive 
themselves  by  them;  but  they  do  not  shift  their  sin 
off  their  shoulders. 

Then  he  comes  in  again  with  an  impotent  attempt 
to  diminish  the  gravity  of  the  revolt.  '  When  he  saw 
this,'  he  tried  to  turn  the  flood  into  another  channel, 
and  so  proclaimed  a '  feast  to  Jehovah ' ! — as  if  He  could 
be  worshipped  by  flagrant  defiance  of  His  command- 
ments, or  as  if  He  had  not  been  disavowed  by  the 
ascription  to  the  calf,  made  that  morning  out  of  their 
own  trinkets,  of  the  deliverance  from  Egypt.  A  poor, 
inconsequential  attempt  to  save  appearances  and 
hallow  sin  by  writing  God's  name  on  it!  The  'god' 
whom  the  Israelites  worshipped  under  the  image  of  a 
calf,  was  no  less  another  'god  before  Me,'  though  it 
was  called  by  the  name  of  Jehovah.  If  the  people 
had  their  idol,  it  mattered  nothing  to  them,  and  it 
mattered  as  little  to  Jehovah,  what  'name'  it  bore. 
The  wild  orgies  of  the  morrow  were  not  the  worship 
which  He  accepts. 

What  a  contrast  between  the  plain  and  the  moun- 


vs.  1-8;  30-35]  THE  GOLDEN  CALF  175 

tain!  Below,  the  shameful  feast,  with  its  parody  of 
sacrifice  and  its  sequel  of  lust-inflamed  dancing ;  above, 
the  awful  colloquy  between  the  all-seeing  righteous 
Judge  and  the  intercessor!  The  people  had  cast  off 
Jehovah,  and  Jehovah  no  more  calls  them  'My,'  but 
'  thy  people.'  They  had  ascribed  their  Exodus  first  to 
Moses,  and  next  to  the  calf.  Jehovah  speaks  of  it  as 
the  work  of  Moses. 

A  terrible  separation  of  Himself  from  them  lies  in 
Hhy  people,  which  thou  broughtest  up,'  and  Moses' 
bold  rejoinder  emphasises  the  relation  and  act  which 
Jehovah  seems  to  suppress  (verse  11).  Observe  that 
the  divine  voice  refuses  to  give  any  weight  to  Aaron's 
trick  of  compromise.  These  are  no  worshippers  of 
Jehovah  who  are  howling  and  dancing  below  there. 
They  are  'worshipping  it,  and  sacrificing  to  it,'  not 
to  Him.  The  cloaks  of  sin  may  partly  cover  its 
ugliness  here,  but  they  are  transparent  to  His  eyes, 
and  many  a  piece  of  worship,  which  is  said  to  be 
directed  to  Him,  is,  in  His  sight,  rank  idolatry. 

We  do  not  deal  with  the  magnificent  courage  of 
Moses,  his  single-handed  arresting  of  the  wild  rebellion, 
and  the  severe  punishment  by  which  he  trampled  out 
the  fire.  But  we  must  keep  his  severity  in  mind  if 
we  would  rightly  judge  his  self-sacrificing  devotion, 
and  his  self-sacrificing  devotion  if  we  would  rightly 
judge  his  severity. 

No  words  of  ours  can  make  more  sublime  his  utter 
self-abandonment  for  the  sake  of  the  people  among 
whom  he  had  just  been  flaming  in  wrath,  and  smiting 
like  a  destroying  angel.  That  was  a  great  soul  which 
had  for  its  poles  such  justice  and  such  love.  The  very 
words  of  his  prayer,  in  their  abruptness,  witness  to 
his  deep  emotion.     'If  Thou  wilt  forgive  their  sin' 


176  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [cH.xxxin. 

stands  as  an  incomplete  sentence,  left  incomplete 
because  the  speaker  is  so  profoundly  moved.  Some- 
times broken  words  are  the  best  witnesses  of  our 
earnestness.  The  alternative  clause  reaches  the  high- 
water  mark  of  passionate  love,  ready  to  give  up  every- 
thing for  the  sake  of  its  objects.  The  'book  of  life' 
is  often  spoken  of  in  Scripture,  and  it  is  an  interesting 
study  to  bring  together  the  places  where  the  idea 
occurs  (see  Ps.  Ixix.  28 ;  Dan.  xii.  1 ;  Phil.  iv.  3 ; 
Rev.  iii.  5).  The  allusion  is  to  the  citizens'  roll  (Ps. 
Ixxxvii.  6).  Those  whose  names  are  written  there 
have  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  and,  as  it  is  the 
•book  of  life'  (or  *o/  the  living'),  life  in  the  widest 
sense  is  secured  to  them.  To  blot  out  of  it,  therefore, 
is  to  cut  a  man  off  from  fellowship  in  the  city  of  God, 
and  from  participation  in  life. 

Moses  was  so  absorbed  in  his  vocation  that  his  life 
was  less  to  him  than  the  well-being  of  Israel.  How 
far  he  saw  into  the  darkness  beyond  the  grave  we 
cannot  say ;  but,  at  least,  he  was  content,  and  desirous 
to  die  on  earth,  if  thereby  Israel  might  continue  to 
be  God's  people.  And  probably  he  had  some  gleam 
of  light  beyond,  which  enhanced  the  greatness  of  his 
offered  sacrifice.  To  die,  whatever  loss  of  communion 
with  God  that  involved  here  or  hereafter,  would  be 
sweet  if  thereby  he  could  purchase  Israel's  restoration 
to  God's  favour.  We  cannot  but  think  of  Paul  willing 
to  be  separated  from  Christ  for  his  brethren's  sake. 

We  may  well  think  of  a  greater  than  Moses  or 
Paul,  who  did  bear  the  loss  which  they  were  willing 
to  bear,  and  died  that  sin  might  be  forgiven.  Moses 
was  a  true  type  of  Christ  in  that  act  of  supreme  self- 
sacrifice;  and  all  the  heroism,  the  identification  of 
himself    with    his    people,   the    love    which   willingly 


vs.  1-8  ;  30-35]  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE        177 

accepts  death,  that  makes  his  prayer  one  of  the 
greatest  deeds  on  the  page  of  history,  are  repeated 
in  infinitely  sweeter,  more  heart-subduing  fashion  in 
the  story  of  the  Cross.  Let  us  not  omit  duly  to  honour 
the  servant;  let  us  not  neglect  to  honour  and  love 
infinitely  more  the  Lord.  '  This  man  was  counted 
worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses.'  Let  us  see  that 
we  render  Him 

*  Thanks  never  ceasing, 
And  infinite  love.' 


THE  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE 

'  And  Moses  turned,  and  went  down  from  the  mount,  and  the  two  tables  of  the 
testimony  were  in  his  hand :  the  tables  were  written  on  both  their  sides ;  on  the 
one  side  and  on  the  other  were  they  written.  16.  And  the  tables  were  the  work  of 
God,  and  the  writing  was  the  writing  of  God,  graven  upon  the  tables.  17.  And 
■when  Joshua  heard  the  noise  of  the  people  as  they  shouted,  he  said  unto  Moses, 
There  is  a  noise  of  war  in  the  camp.  18.  And  he  said,  It  is  not  the  voice  of  them  that 
shout  for  mastery,  neither  is  it  the  voice  of  them  that  cry  for  being  overcome  :  but 
the  noise  of  them  that  sing  do  I  hear.  19.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon  as  he  came 
nigh  unto  the  camp,  that  he  saw  the  calf ,  and  the  dancing :  and  Moses'  anger  waxed 
hot,  and  he  cast  the  tables  out  of  his  hands,  and  brake  them  beneath  the  mount. 
20.  And  he  took  the  calf  which  they  had  made,  and  burnt  it  in  the  Are,  and  ground 
it  to  powder,  and  strawed  it  upon  the  water,  and  made  the  children  of  Israel  drink 
of  it.  21.  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  What  did  this  people  unto  thee,  that  thou 
hast  brought  so  great  a  sin  upon  them  ?  22.  And  Aaron  said.  Let  not  the  anger  of 
my  lord  wax  hot :  thou  knowest  the  people,  that  they  are  set  on  mischief.  23.  For 
they  said  unto  me.  Make  us  gods,  which  shall  go  before  us :  for  as  for  this  Moses, 
the  man  that  brought  us  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  what  is  become 
of  him.  24.  And  I  said  unto  them,  Whosoever  hath  any  gold,  let  them  break  it 
oflf.  So  they  gave  it  me  :  then  I  cast  it  into  the  fire,  and  there  came  out  this  calf. 
25.  And  when  Moses  saw  that  the  people  were  naked ;  (for  Aaron  had  made  them 
naked  unto  their  shame  among  their  enemies :)  26.  Then  Moses  stood  in  the  gate 
of  the  camp,  and  said.  Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side  ?  let  him  come  unto  me.  And.  all 
the  sons  of  Levi  gathered  themselves  together  unto  him.'— Exodus  xxxii.  15-26. 

Moses  and  Joshua  are  on  their  way  down  from  the 
mountain,  the  former  carrying  the  tables  in  his  hands 
and  a  heavier  burden  in  his  heart, — the  thought  of  the 
people's  swift  apostasy.  Joshua's  soldierly  ear  interprets 
the  shouts  which  are  borne  up  to  them  as  war-cries; 

M 


178  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxii. 

•  He  snuffeth  the  battle  afar  off,  and  saith  Aha ! '  But 
Moses  knew  that  they  meant  worse  than  war,  and  his 
knowledge  helped  his  ear  to  distinguish  a  cadence  and 
unison  in  the  noise,  unlike  the  confused  mingling  of  the 
victors'  yell  of  triumph  and  the  shriek  of  the  conquered. 
If  we  were  dealing  with  fiction,  we  should  admire  the 
masterly  dramatic  instinct  which  lets  the  ear  antici- 
pate the  eye,  and  so  prepares  us  for  the  hideous  sight 
that  burst  on  these  two  at  some  turn  in  the  rocky 
descent. 

I.  Note,  then,  what  they  saw.  The  vivid  story  puts 
it  all  in  two  words, — '  the  calf  and  the  dancing.'  There 
in  the  midst,  perhaps  on  some  pedestal,  was  the  shame- 
ful copy  of  the  Egyptian  Apis ;  and  whirling  round  it 
in  mad  circles,  working  themselves  into  frenzy  by  rapid 
motion  and  frantic  shouts,  were  the  people, — men  and 
women,  mingled  in  the  licentious  dance,  who,  six  short 
weeks  before,  had  sworn  to  the  Covenant.  Their  bestial 
deity  in  the  centre,  and  they  compassing  it  with  wild 
hymns,  were  a  frightful  contradiction  of  that  grey 
altar  and  the  twelve  encircling  stones  which  they  had 
so  lately  reared,  and  which  stood  unregarded,  a  bow- 
shot off,  as  a  silent  witness  against  them.  Note  the 
strange,  irresistible  fascination  of  idolatry.  Clearly  the 
personal  influence  of  Moses  was  the  only  barrier  against 
it.  The  people  thought  that  he  had  disappeared,  and, 
if  so,  Jehovah  had  disappeared  with  him.  We  wonder 
at  their  relapses  into  idolatry,  but  we  forget  that  it  was 
then  universal,  that  Israel  was  at  the  beginning  of  its 
long  training,  that  not  even  a  divine  revelation  could 
produce  harvest  in  seedtime,  and  that  to  look  for  a 
final  and  complete  deliverance  from  the  *  veil  that  was 
spread  over  all  nations,'  at  this  stage,  is  like  expecting 
a  newly  reclaimed  bit  of  the  backwoods  to  grow  grass 


vs.  15-26]  THE  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE    179 

as  thick  and  velvety  as  has  carpeted  some  lawn  that 
has  been  mown  and  cared  for  for  a  century.  Grave 
condemnation  is  the  due  of  these  short  -  memoried 
rebels,  who  set  up  their  '  abomination '  in  sight  of  the 
fire  on  Sinai ;  but  that  should  not  prevent  our  recog- 
nising the  evidence  which  their  sin  affords  of  the 
tremendous  power  of  idolatry  in  that  stage  of  the 
world's  history.  Israel's  proneness  to  fall  back  to 
heathenism  makes  it  certain  that  a  supernatural 
revelation  is  needed  to  account  for  their  possession 
of  the  loftier  faith  which  was  so  far  above  them. 

That  howling,  leaping  crowd  tells  what  sort  of 
religion  they  would  have  'evolved'  if  left  to  them- 
selves. Where  did  '  Thou  shalt  have  none  other  gods 
beside  Me '  come  from  ?  Note  the  confusion  of  thought, 
so  difficult  for  us  to  understand,  which  characterises 
idolatry.  What  a  hopelessly  inconsequential  cry  that 
was,  '  Make  us  gods,  which  shall  go  before  us  I '  and 
what  a  muddle  of  contradictions  it  was  that  men  should 
say  'These  be  thy  gods,'  though  they  knew  that  the 
thing  was  made  yesterday  out  of  their  own  earrings  ! 
It  took  more  than  a  thousand  years  to  teach  the  nation 
the  force  of  the  very  self-evident  argument,  as  it  seems 
to  us,  •  the  workman  made  it,  therefore  it  is  not  God.' 
The  theory  that  the  idol  is  only  a  symbol  is  not  the 
actual  belief  of  idolaters.  It  is  a  product  of  the  study, 
but  the  worshipper  unites  in  his  thought  the  irrecon- 
cilable beliefs  that  it  was  made  and  is  divine.  A  gold- 
smith will  make  and  sell  a  Madonna,  and  when  it  is  put 
in  the  cathedral,  will  kneel  before  it. 

Note  what  was  the  sin  here.  It  is  generally  taken 
for  granted  that  it  was  a  breach  of  the  second,  not  of 
the  first,  commandment,  and  Aaron's  proclamation  of 
*  a  feast  to  the  Lord '  is  taken  as  proving  this.    Aaron 


180  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxii. 

was  probably  trying  to  make  an  impossible  compro- 
mise, and  to  find  some  salve  for  his  conscience ;  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  the  people  accepted  the  half-and- 
half  suggestion.  Leaders  who  try  to  control  a  move- 
ment which  they  disapprove,  by  seeming  to  accept  it, 
play  a  dangerous  game,  and  usually  fail.  But  whether 
the  people  call  the  calf  '  Jehovah '  or '  Apis '  matters  very 
little.  There  would  be  as  complete  apostasy  to  another 
god,  though  the  other  god  was  called  by  the  same  name, 
if  all  that  really  makes  his  '  name '  was  left  out,  and 
foreign  elements  were  brought  in.  Such  worship  as 
these  wild  dances,  offered  to  an  image,  broke  both  the 
commandments,  no  matter  by  what  name  the  image 
was  invoked. 

The  roots  of  idolatry  are  in  all  men.  The  gross  form 
of  it  is  impossible  to  us;  but  the  need  for  aid  from 
sense,  the  dependence  on  art  for  wings  to  our  devotion, 
which  is  a  growing  danger  to-day,  is  only  the  modern 
form  of  the  same  dislike  of  a  purely  spiritual  religion 
which  sent  these  people  dancing  round  their  calf. 

II.  Mark  Moses'  blaze  of  wrath  and  courageous, 
prompt  action.  He  dashes  the  tables  on  the  rock, 
as  if  to  break  the  record  of  the  useless  laws  which 
the  people  have  already  broken,  and,  with  his  hands 
free,  flings  himself  without  pause  into  the  midst  of  the 
excited  mob.  Verses  19  and  20  bear  the  impression 
of  his  rapid,  decisive  action  in  their  succession  of 
clauses,  each  tacked  on  to  the  preceding  by  a  simple 
'and.'  Stroke  followed  stroke.  His  fiery  earnestness 
swept  over  all  obstacles,  the  base  riot  ceased,  the 
ashamed  dancers  slunk  away.  Some  true  hearts 
would  gather  about  him,  and  carry  out  his  commands ;. 
but  he  did  the  real  work,  and,  single-handed,  cowed 
and  controlled  the  mob.    No  doubt,  it  took  more  time 


vs.  15-26]  THE  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE     181 

than  the  brief  narrative,  at  first  sight,  would  suggest. 
The  image  is  flung  into  the  fire  from  which  it  had  come 
out.  The  fire  made  it,  and  the  fire  shall  unmake  it. 
We  need  not  find  difficulty  in  *  burning '  a  golden  idol. 
That  does  not  mean  'calcined,'  and  the  writer  is  not 
guilty  of  a  blunder,  nor  needed  to  be  taught  that  you 
cannot  burn  gold.  The  next  clause  says  that  after  it 
was  '  burned,'  it  was  still  solid ;  so  that,  plainly,  all  that 
is  meant  is,  that  the  metal  was  reduced  to  a  shapeless 
lump.  That  would  take* some  time.  Then  it  was 
broken  small;  there  were  plenty  of  rocks  to  grind  it 
up  on.  That  would  take  some  more  time,  but  not  a 
finger  was  lifted  to  prevent  it.  Then  the  more  or  less 
finely  broken  up  fragments  are  flung  into  the  brook, 
and,  with  grim  irony,  the  people  are  bid  to  drink. 
*  You  shall  have  enough  of  your  idol,  since  you  love  him 
so.  Here,  down  with  him  !  You  will  have  to  take  the 
consequences  of  your  sin.  You  must  drink  as  you 
have  brewed.'  It  is  at  once  a  contemptuous  demori- 
stration  of  the  idol's  impotence,  and  a  picture  of  the 
sure  retribution. 

But  we  may  learn  two  things  from  this  figure  of  the 
indignant  lawgiver.  One  is,  that  the  temper  in  which 
to  regard  idolatry  is  not  one  of  equable  indifference 
nor  of  scientific  investigation,  but  that  some  heat  of 
moral  indignation  is  wholesome.  We  are  all  studying 
comparative  mythology  now,  and  getting  much  good 
from  it ;  but  we  are  in  some  danger  of  forgetting  that 
these  strange  ideas  and  practices,  which  we  examine 
at  our  ease,  have  spread  spiritual  darkness  and  moral 
infection  over  continents  and  through  generations. 
Let  us  understand  them,  by  all  means ;  let  us  be  thank- 
ful to  find  fragments  of  truth  in,  or  innocent  origins 
of,    repulsive    legends ;    but    do    not  let   the   student 


182  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxii. 

swallow  up  the  Christian  in  us,  nor  our  minds 
lose  their  capacity  of  wholesome  indignation  at  the 
systems,  blended  with  Christ-like  pity  and  effort  for 
the  victims. 

We  may  learn,  further,  how  strong  a  man  is  when 
he  is  all  aflame  with  true  zeal  for  God.  The  sudden- 
ness of  Moses'  reappearance,  the  very  audacity  of  his 
act,  the  people's  habit  of  obedience,  all  helped  to  carry 
him  through  the  crisis  ;  but  the  true  secret  of  his  swift 
victory  was  his  own  self-forgetting  faith.  There  is 
contagion  in  pure  religious  enthusiasm.  It  is  the 
strongest  of  all  forces.  One  man,  with  God  at  his 
back,  is  always  in  the  majority.  He  whose  whole  soul 
glows  with  the  pure  fire,  will  move  among  men  like 
flame  in  stubble.  '  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believeth.'  Consecrated  daring,  animated  by  love  and 
fed  with  truth,  is  all-conquering. 

III.  Note  the  weaker  nature  of  Aaron,  taking  refuge 
in  a  transparent  lie.  Probably  his  dialogue  with  his 
brother  came  in  before  the  process  described  in  the 
former  verses  was  accomplished.  But  the  narrative 
keeps  all  that  referred  to  the  destruction  of  the  idol 
together,  and  goes  by  subject  rather  than  by  time. 
We  do  not  learn  how  Moses  had  come  to  know  Aaron's 
share  in  the  sin,  but  his  question  is  one  of  astonish- 
ment. Had  they  bewitched  him  anyhow?  or  what 
inducement  had  led  him  so  far  astray  ?  The  stronger 
and  devouter  soul  cannot  conceive  how  the  weaker 
had  yielded.  Aaron's  answer  puts  the  people's  wish 
forward.  'They  said,  Make  us  gods';  that  was  all 
which  they  had  *  done.'  A  poor  excuse,  as  Aaron  feels 
even  while  he  is  stammering  it  out.  What  would 
Moses  have  answered  if  the  people  had  *  said '  so  to 
him?    Did  he,  standing  there,  with  the   heat  of  his 


Ys.  15-26]  THE  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE     183 

struggle  on  him  yet,  look  like  a  man  that  would 
acknowledge  any  demand  of  a  mob  as  a  reason  for  a 
ruler's  compliance  ?  It  is  the  coward's  plea.  How  many 
ecclesiastics  and  statesmen  since  then  have  had  no 
better  to  offer  for  their  acts  !  Such  fear  of  the  Lord 
as  shrivelled  before  the  breath  of  popular  clamour 
could  have  had  no  deep  roots.  One  of  the  first  things  to 
learn,  whether  we  are  in  prominent  or  in  private  posi- 
tions, is  to  hold  by  our  religious  convictions  in  supreme 
indifference  to  all  surrounding  voices,  and  to  let  no 
threats  nor  entreaties  lead  us  to  take  one  step  beyond 
or  against  conscience. 

Aaron  feels  the  insufficiency  of  the  plea,  when  he  has 
to  put  it  into  plain  words  to  such  a  listener,  and  so  he 
flies  to  the  resource  of  timid  and  weak  natures,  a  lie. 
For  what  did  he  ask  the  gold,  and  put  it  into  the  fur- 
nace, unless  he  meant  to  make  a  god  ?  Perhaps  he  had 
told  the  people  the  same  story,  as  priests  in  all  lands 
have  been  apt  to  claim  a  miraculous  origin  for  idols. 
And  he  repeats  it  now,  as  if,  were  it  true,  he  would 
plead  the  miracle  as  a  vindication  of  the  worship  as 
well  as  his  absolution.  But  the  lie  is  too  transparent 
to  deserve  even  an  answer,  and  Moses  turns  silently 
from  him. 

Aaron's  was  evidently  the  inferior  nature,  and  was 
less  deeply  stamped  with  the  print  of  heaven  than  his 
brother's.  His  feeble  compliance  is  recorded  as  a 
beacon  for  all  persons  in  places  of  influence  or  autho- 
rity, warning  them  against  self-interested  or  cowardly 
yielding  to  a  popular  demand,  at  the  sacrifice  of  the 
purity  of  truth  and  the  approval  of  their  own  con- 
sciences. He  was  not  the  last  priest  who  has  allowed 
the  supposed  wishes  of  the  populace  to  shape  his  re- 
presentations of  God,  and  has  knowingly  dropped  the 


184  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxxii. 

standard  of  duty  or  sullied  the  clear  brightness  of 
truth  in  deference  to  the  many-voiced  monster. 

IV.  Note  the  rallying  of  true  hearts  round  Moses. 
The  Revised  Version  reads  'broken  loose'  instead  of 
'naked,'  and  the  correction  is  valuable.  It  explains 
the  necessity  for  the  separation  of  those  who  yet  re- 
mained bound  by  the  restraints  of  God's  law,  and  for 
the  terrible  retribution  that  followed.  The  rebellion 
had  not  been  stamped  out  by  the  destruction  of  the 
calf;  and  though  Moses'  dash  into  their  midst  had 
cowed  the  rebels  for  a  time,  things  had  gone  too  far 
to  settle  down  again  at  once.  The  camp  was  in  insur- 
rection. It  was  more  than  a  riot,  it  was  a  revolution. 
With  the  rapid  eye  of  genius,  Moses  sees  the  gravity 
of  the  crisis,  and,  with  equally  swift  decisiveness,  acts 
so  as  to  meet  it.  He  '  stood  in  the  gate  of  the  camp,' 
and  made  the  nucleus  for  the  still  faithful.  His  sum- 
mons puts  the  full  seriousness  of  the  moment  clearly 
before  the  people.  They  have  come  to  a  fork  in  the 
road.  They  must  be  either  for  Jehovah  or  against 
Him.  There  can  be  no  mixing  up  of  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  and  the  images  of  Egypt,  no  tampering  with 
God's  service  in  obedience  to  popular  clamour.  It  must 
be  one  thing  or  other.  This  is  no  time  for  the  family 
of  '  Mr.  Facing-both-ways  ' ;  the  question  for  each  man 
is,  '  Under  which  King  ? '  Moses'  unhesitating  confi- 
dence that  he  is  God's  soldier,  and  that  to  be  at  his 
side  is  to  be  on  God's  side,  was  warranted  in  him,  but 
has  often  been  repeated  with  less  reason  by  eager  con- 
tenders, as  they  believed  themselves  to  be,  for  God. 
No  doubt,  it  becomes  us  to  be  modest  and  cautious  in 
calling  all  true  friends  of  God  to  rank  themselves  with 
us.  But  where  the  issue  is  between  foul  wrong  and 
plain  right,  between  palpable  idolatry,  error,  or  un- 


vs.  15-26]  THE  SWIFT  DECAY  OF  LOVE    185 

bridled  lust,  and  truth,  purity,  and  righteousness,  the 
Christian  combatant  for  these  is  entitled  to  send  round 
the  fiery  cross,  and  proclaim  a  crusade  in  God's  name. 
There  will  always  be  plenty  of  people  with  cold  water 
to  pour  on  enthusiasm.  We  should  be  all  the  better 
for  a  few  more,  who  would  venture  to  feel  that  they 
are  fighting  for  God,  and  to  summon  all  who  love  Him 
to  come  to  their  and  His  help. 

Moses'  own  tribe  responded  to  the  summons.  And, 
no  doubt,  Aaron  was  there  too,  galvanised  into  a 
nobler  self  by  the  courage  and  fervour  of  his  brother, 
and,  let  us  hope,  urged  by  penitence,  to  efface  the 
memory  of  his  faithlessness  by  his  heroism  now. 

We  do  not  go  on  to  the  dreadful  retribution,  which 
must  be  regarded,  not  as  massacre,  but  as  legal 
execution.  It  is  folly  to  apply  to  it,  or  to  other 
analogous  instances,  the  ideas  of  this  Christian  cen- 
tury. We  need  not  be  afraid  to  admit  that  there  has 
been  a  development  of  morality.  The  retributions  of 
a  stern  age  were  necessarily  stern.  But  if  we  want  to 
understand  the  heart  of  Moses,  or  of  Moses'  God,  we 
must  not  look  only  at  the  ruler  of  a  wild  people 
trampling  out  a  revolt  at  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives, 
but  listen  to  him,  as  the  next  section  of  the  narrative 
shows  him,  pleading  with  tears  for  the  rebels,  and 
offering  even  to  let  his  own  name  be  blotted  out  of 
God's  book  if  their  sin  might  be  forgiven.  So,  coupling 
the  two  parts  of  his  conduct  together,  we  may  learn  a 
little  more  clearly  a  lesson,  of  which  this  age  has  much 
need, — the  harmony  of  retributive  justice  and  pitying 
love ;  and  may  come  to  understand  that  Moses  learned 
both  the  one  and  the  other  by  fellowship  with  the  God 
in  whom  they  both  dwell  in  perfection  and  concord. 


THE  MEDIATOR'S  THREEFOLD  PRAYER 

'And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord,  See,  Thou  sayest  Tinto  me,  Bring  up  this  people ! 
and  Thou  hast  not  let  me  know  whom  Thou  wilt  send  with  me.  Yet  Thou  hast 
said,  I  Icnow  thee  by  name,  and  thou  hast  also  found  grace  in  My  sight.  13.  Now 
therefore,  I  pray  Thee,  if  I  have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  show  me  now  Thy  way, 
that  I  may  know  Thee,  that  I  may  find  grace  in  Thy  sight :  and  consider  that  this 
nation  is  Thy  people.  14.  And  He  said,  My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will 
give  thee  rest.  15.  And  he  said  unto  Him,  If  Thy  presence  go  not  with  me,  carry 
us  not  up  hence.  16.  For  wherein  shall  it  be  known  here  that  I  and  Thy  people 
have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight  ?  Is  it  not  in  that  Thou  goest  with  us  ?  So  shall  we 
be  separated,  I  and  Thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  17.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  I  will  do  this  thing  also  that  thou  hast 
spoken  :  for  thou  hast  found  grace  in  My'sight,  and  I  know  thee  by  name.  18.  And 
he  said,  I  beseech  Thee,  show  me  Thy  glory.  19.  And  He  said,  I  will  make  all  My 
goodness  pass  before  thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of  the  Lord  before  thee ; 
and  wiU  be  gracious  to  whom  I  will  be  gracious,  and  will  shew  mercy  on  whom  I 
will  shew  mercy.  20.  And  he  said.  Thou  canst  not  see  My  face :  for  there  shall  no 
man  see  Me,  and  live.  21.  And  the  Lord  said.  Behold,  there  is  a  place  by  Me,  and 
thou  Shalt  stand  upon  a  rock :  22.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  while  My  glory  passeth 
by,  that  I  will  put  thee  in  a  clift  of  the  rock,  and  will  cover  thee  with  My  hand 
while  I  pass  by :  23.  And  I  will  take  away  Mine  hand,  and  thou  shalt  see  My  back 
parts ;  but  My  face  shall  not  be  seen.'— Exodus  xxxiii.  12-23. 

The  calf  worship  broke  the  bond  between  God  and 
Israel.  Instead  of  His  presence,  'an  angel'  is  to  lead 
them,  for  His  presence  could  only  be  destruction. 
Mourning  spreads  through  the  camp,  in  token  of  which 
all  ornaments  are  laid  aside.  The  fate  of  the  nation  is 
in  suspense,  and  the  people  wait,  in  sad  attire,  till  God 
knows  'what  to  do  unto'  them.  The  Tabernacle  is 
carried  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  camp,  in  witness  of 
the  breach,  and  all  the  future  is  doubtful.  The  pre- 
ceding context  describes  (vs.  7-11)  not  one  event,  but 
the  standing  order  of  these  dark  days,  when  the  camp 
had  to  be  left  if  God  was  to  be  found,  and  when  Moses 
alone  received  tokens  of  God's  friendship,  and  the 
people  stood  wistfully  and  tremblingly  gazing  from 
afar,  while  the  cloudy  pillar  wavered  down  to  the 
Tabernacle    door.     Duty  brought   Moses    back  from 


vs.  12-23]      THREEFOLD  PRAYER  187 

such  communion ;  but  Joshua  did  not  need  to  come 
near  the  tents  of  the  evil-doers,  and,  in  the  constancy 
of  devout  desire,  made  his  home  in  the  Tabernacle. 
In  one  of  these  interview's,  so  close  and  familiar, 
the  vronderful  dialogue  here  recorded  occurred.  It 
turns  round  three  petitions,  to  each  of  w^hich  the  Lord 
answers. 

I.  We  have  the  leader's  prayer  for  himself,  wdth  the 
over-abundant  answer  of  God.  In  the  former  chapter, 
we  had  the  very  sublimity  of  intercession,  in  which  the 
stern  avenger  of  idolatry  poured  out  his  self-sacrificing 
love  for  the  stiff-necked  nation  whom  he  had  had  to 
smite,  and  offered  himself  a  victim  for  them.  Here  his 
first  prayer  is  mainly  for  himself,  but  it  is  not  therefore 
a  selfish  prayer.  Rather  he  prays  for  gifts  to  himself,  to 
fit  him  for  his  service  to  them.  We  may  note  separately 
the  prayer,  and  the  pleas  on  which  it  is  urged.  '  Show 
me  now  Thy  way  (or  ways),  that  I  may  know  Thee.' 
The  desire  immediately  refers  to  the  then  condition  of 
things.  As  we  have  pointed  out,  it  was  a  time  of  sus- 
pense. In  the  strong  metaphor  of  the  context,  God 
was  making  up  His  mind  on  His  course,  and  Israel  was 
waiting  with  hushed  breath  for  the  denouement.  It 
was  not  the  entrance  of  the  nation  into  the  promised 
land  which  was  in  doubt,  but  the  manner  of  their 
guidance,  and  the  penalties  of  their  idolatry.  These 
things  Moses  asked  to  know,  and  especially,  as  verse  12 
shows,  to  receive  some  more  definite  communication  as 
to  their  leader  than  the  vague  'an  angel.'  But  the 
specific  knowledge  of  God's  'way'  was  yearned  for  by 
him,  mainly,  as  leading  on  to  a  deeper  and  fuller  and 
more  blessed  knowledge  of  God  Himself,  and  that 
again  as  leading  to  a  fuller  possession  of  God's  favour, 
which,  as  already  in  some  measure  possessed,  lay  at 


188  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxiii. 

the  foundation  of  the  whole  prayer.  The  connection 
of  thought  here  goes  far  beyond  the  mere  immediate 
blessing,  which  Moses  needed  at  the  moment.  That 
cry  for  insight  into  the  purposes  and  methods  of  Him 
whom  the  soul  trusts,  amid  darkness  and  suspense,  is 
the  true  voice  of  sonship.  The  more  deeply  it  sees  into 
these,  the  more  does  the  devout  soul  feel  the  contrast 
between  the  spot  of  light  in  which  it  lives  and  the 
encircling  obscurity,  and  the  more  does  it  yearn  for 
the  further  setting  back  of  the  boundaries.  Prayer 
does  more  than  effort,  for  satisfying  that  desire.  Nor 
is  it  mere  curiosity  or  the  desire  for  intellectual  clear- 
ness that  moves  the  longing.  For  the  end  of  knowing 
God's  ways  is,  for  the  devout  man,  a  deeper,  more 
blessed  knowledge  of  God  Himself,  who  is  best  known 
in  His  deeds ;  and  the  highest,  most  blessed  issue  of 
the  God-given  knowledge  of  God,  is  the  conscious 
sunshine  of  His  favour  shining  ever  on  His  servant. 
That  is  not  a  selfish  religion  which,  beginning  with 
the  assurance  that  we  have  found  grace  in  His  sight, 
seeks  to  climb,  by  happy  paths  of  growing  know- 
ledge of  Him  as  manifested  in  His  ways,  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  that  favour  which  is  made  stable  and 
profound  by  clear  insight  into  the  depths  of  His 
purposes  and  acts. 

The  pleas  on  which  this  prayer  is  urged  are  two :  the 
suppliant's  heavy  tasks,  and  God's  great  assurances  to 
him.  He  boldly  reminds  God  of  what  He  has  set  him 
to  do,  and  claims  that  he  should  be  furnished  with 
what  is  needful  for  discharging  his  commission.  How 
can  he  lead  if  he  is  kept  in  the  dark  ?  When  we  are  as 
sure  as  Moses  was  of  God's  charge  to  us,  we  may  be  as 
bold  as  he  in  asking  the  needful  equipment  for  it.  God 
does  not  send  His  servants  out  to  sow  without  seed,  or 


vs.  12-23]      THREEFOLD  PRAYER  189 

to  fight  without  a  sword.  His  command  is  His  pledge. 
He  smiles  approval  when  His  servants'  confidence 
assumes  even  bold  forms,  which  sound  like  remon- 
strance and  a  suspicion  that  He  was  forgetting,  for  He 
discerns  the  underlying  eagerness  to  do  His  will,  and 
the  trust  in  Him.  The  second  plea  is  built  on  God's 
assurances  of  intimate  and  distinguishing  knowledge 
and  favour.  He  had  said  that  He  knew  Moses  *  by  name,' 
by  all  these  calls  and  familiar  interviews  which  gave 
him  the  certainty  of  his  individual  relation  to,  and  his 
special  appointment  from,  the  Lord.  Such  prerogative 
was  inconsistent  with  reserve.  The  test  of  friendship 
is  confidence.  So  pleads  Moses,  and  God  recognises  the 
plea.  '  I  call  you  not  servants ;  for  the  servant  knoweth 
not  what  his  lord  doeth  ;  but  I  have  called  you  friends ; 
for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father  I  have 
made  known  unto  you.' 

The  plea  based  upon  the  relation  of  the  people  to 
God  is  subordinate  in  this  first  prayer.  It  is  thrown  in 
at  the  end  almost  as  an  afterthought;  it  boldly  casts 
responsibility  off  Moses  on  to  God,  and  does  so  to 
enforce  the  prayer  that  he  should  be  equipped  with  all 
requisites  for  his  work,  as  if  he  had  said,  'It  is  more 
Thy  concern  than  mine,  that  I  should  be  able  to  lead 
them.'  The  divine  answer  is  a  promise  to  go  not  with 
the  people,  but  with  Moses.  It  is  therefore  not  yet  a 
full  resolving  of  the  doubtful  matter,  nor  directly  a 
reply  to  Moses'  prayer.  In  one  aspect  it  is  less,  and  in 
another  more,  than  had  been  asked.  It  seals  to  the 
man  and  to  the  leader  the  assurance  that  for  himself 
he  shall  have  the  continual  presence  of  God,  in  his  soul 
and  in  his  work,  and  that,  in  all  the  weary  march,  he 
will  have  rest,  and  will  come  to  a  fuller  rest  at  its  end. 
Thus  God  ever  answers  the  true  hearts  that  seek  to 


190  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxiii. 

know  Him,  and  to  be  fitted  for  their  tasks.  Whether 
the  precise  form  of  desire  be  fulfilled  or  no,  the  issue  of 
such  bold  and  trustful  pleading  is  always  the  inward 
certainty  of  God's  face  shining  on  us,  and  the  experience 
of  repose,  deep  and  untroubled  in  the  midst  of  toil,  so 
that  we  may  be  at  once  pilgrims  towards,  and  dwellers 
in,  *  the  house  of  the  Lord.' 

II.  We  have  the  intercessor's  prayer  for  the  people, 
with  the  answer  (vs.  15-17).  If  the  promise  of  verse  14 
is  taken  as  referring  to  the  people,  there  is  nothing 
additional  asked  in  this  second  stage,  and  the  words  of 
verse  17,  'this  thing  also,'  are  inexplicable.  Observe 
that  'with  me'  in  verse  15  is  a  supplement,  and  that 
the  *  us '  of  the  next  clause,  as  well  as  the  whole  cast  of 
verse  16,  suggests  that  we  should  rather  supply  '  with 
us.'  The  substance,  then,  of  the  second  petition,  is  the 
extension  of  the  promise,  already  given  to  Moses  for 
himself,  to  the  entire  nation.  Observe  how  he  identifies 
himself  with  them,  making  them  'partakers'  in  his 
grace,  and  reiterating  '  I  and  Thy  people,'  as  if  he  would 
have  no  blessing  which  was  not  shared  by  them.  He 
seeks  that  the  withdrawal  of  God's  presence,  which  had 
been  the  consequence  of  Israel's  withdrawal  from  God, 
should  be  reversed,  and  that  not  he  alone,  but  all  the 
rebels,  might  still  possess  His  presence. 

The  plea  for  this  prayer  is  God's  honour,  which  was 
concerned  m  making  it  plain  even  in  the  remote  wilder- 
ness, to  the  wandering  tribes  there,  that  His  hand  was 
upon  Israel.  Moses  expands  the  argument  which  he 
had  just  touched  before.  The  thought  of  His  own  glory, 
as  the  motive  of  God's  acts,  may  easily  be  so  put  as 
to  be  repulsive ;  but  at  bottom  it  is  the  same  as  to  say 
that  His  motive  is  love— for  the  glory  which  He  seeks 
is  the  communication  of  true  thoughts  concerning  His 


vs.  12-23]      THREEFOLD  PRAYER  191 

character,  that  men  may  be  made  glad  and  like  Himself 
thereby.  Moses  has  learned  that  God's  heart  must 
long  to  reveal  its  depth  of  mercy,  and  therefore  he 
pleads  that  even  sinful  Israel  should  not  be  left 
by  God,  in  order  that  some  light  from  His  face  may 
strike  into  a  dark  world.  There  is  wide  benevolence, 
as  well  as  deep  insight  into  the  desires  of  God,  in 
the  plea. 

The  divine  answer  yields  unconditionally  to  the 
request,  and  rests  the  reason  for  so  doing  wholly  on 
the  relation  between  God  and  Moses.  The  plea  which 
he  had  urged  in  lowly  boldness  as  the  foundation  of 
both  his  prayers  is  endorsed,  and,  for  his  sake,  the 
divine  presence  is  again  granted  to  the  people. 

Can  we  look  at  this  scene  without  seeing  in  it  the 
operation  on  a  lower  field  of  the  same  great  principle 
of  intercession,  which  reaches  its  unique  example  in 
Jesus  Christ  ?  It  is  not  arbitrary  forcing  of  the  gospel 
into  the  history,  but  simply  the  recognition  of  the 
essence  of  the  history,  when  we  see  in  it  a  fore- 
shadowing of  our  great  High-priest.  He,  too,  knits 
Himself  so  closely  with  us,  both  by  the  assumption  of 
our  manhood  and  by  the  identity  of  loving  sympathy, 
that  He  accepts  nothing  from  the  Father's  hand  for 
Himself  alone.  He,  too,  presents  Himself  before  God, 
and  says  '  I  and  Thy  people.'  The  great  seal  of  proof 
for  the  world  that  He  is  the  beloved  of  God,  lies 
in  the  divine  guardianship  and  guidance  of  His 
servants.  His  prayer  for  them  prevails,  and  the 
reason  for  its  prevalence  is  God's  delight  in  Him.  The 
very  sublime  of  self-sacrificing  love  was  in  the  law- 
giver, but  the  height  of  his  love,  measured  against  the 
immeasurable  altitude  of  Christ's,  is  as  a  mole-hill  to 
the  Andes. 


192  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxxiii. 

III.  We  have  the  last  soaring  desire  which  rises  above 
the  limits  of  the  present.  These  three  petitions  teach 
the  insatiableness,  if  we  may  use  the  word,  of  devout 
desires.  Each  request  granted  brings  on  a  greater. 
'The  gift  doth  stretch  itself  as  'tis  received.'  Enjoy- 
ment increases  capacity,  and  increase  of  capacity 
is  increase  of  desire.  God  being  infinite,  and  man 
capable  of  indefinite  growth,  neither  the  widening 
capacity  nor  the  infinite  supply  can  have  limits.  This 
is  not  the  least  of  the  blessings  of  a  devout  life,  that 
the  appetite  grows  with  what  it  feeds  on,  and  that, 
while  there  is  always  satisfaction,  there  is  never 
satiety. 

Moses'  prayer  sounds  presumptuous,  but  it  was  heard 
unblamed,  and  granted  in  so  far  as  possible.  It  was  a 
venial  error — if  error  it  may  be  called — that  a  soul, 
touched  with  the  flame  of  divine  love,  should  aspire 
beyond  the  possibilities  of  mortality.  At  all  events,  it 
was  a  fault  in  which  he  has  had  few  imitators.  Our 
desires  keep  but  too  well  within  the  limits  of  the  possible. 
The  precise  meaning  of  the  petition  must  be  left  unde- 
termined. Only  this  is  clear,  that  it  was  something  far 
beyond  even  that  face-to-face  intercourse  which  he  had 
had,  as  well  as  beyond  that  vision  granted  to  the  elders. 
If  we  are  to  take  'glory'  in  its  usual  sense,  it  would 
mean  the  material  symbol  of  God's  presence,  which 
shone  at  the  heart  of  the  pillar,  and  dwelt  afterwards 
between  the  cherubim,  but  probably  we  must  attach  a 
loftier  meaning  to  it  here,  and  rather  think  of  what  we 
should  call  the  uncreated  and  infinite  divine  essence. 
Only  do  not  let  us  make  Moses  talk  like  a  metaphysician 
or  a  theological  professor.  Rather  we  should  hear  in  his 
cry  the  voice  of  a  soul  thrilled  through  and  through  with 
the  ;•. bounding  consciousness  of  God's  favour,  blessed 


vs.  12-23]      THREEFOLD  PHAYER  193 

with  love-gifts  in  answered  prayers,  and  yearning  for 
more  of  that  light  which  it  feels  to  be  life. 

And  if  the  petition  be  dark,  the  answer  is  yet  more 
obscure  'with  excess  of  light.'  Mark  how  it  begins 
with  granting,  not  with  refusing.  It  tells  how  much 
the  loving  desire  has  power  to  bring,  before  it  speaks 
of  what  in  it  must  be  denied.  There  is  infinite  tender- 
ness in  that  order  of  response.  It  speaks  of  a  heart 
that  does  not  love  to  say  '  no,'  and  grants  our  wishes  up 
to  the  very  edge  of  the  ppssible,  and  wraps  the  bitter- 
ness of  any  refusal  in  the  sweet  envelope  of  granted 
requests.  A  broad  distinction  is  drawn  between  that 
in  God  which  can  be  revealed,  and  that  which  cannot. 
The  one  is  *  glory,'  the  other  '  goodness,'  corresponding, 
we  might  almost  say,  to  the  distinction  between  the 
*  moral '  and  the  '  natural '  attributes  of  God.  But, 
whatever  mysterious  revelation  under  the  guise  of 
vision  may  be  concealed  in  these  words,  and  in  the 
fulfilment  of  them  in  the  next  chapter,  they  belong  to 
the  '  things  which  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  utter,' 
even  if  he  has  received  them.  We  are  on  more  in- 
telligible ground  in  the  next  clause  of  the  promise,  the 
proclamation  of  'the  Name.'  That  expression  is,  in 
Scripture,  always  used  as  meaning  the  manifested 
character  of  God.  It  is  a  revelation  addressed  to  the 
spirit,  not  to  the  sense.  It  is  the  translation,  so  far  as 
it  is  capable  of  translation,  of  the  vision  which  it  accom- 
panied ;  it  is  the  treasure  which  Moses  bore  away  from 
Sinai,  and  has  shared  among  us  all.  The  reason  for  his 
prayer  was  probably  his  desire  to  have  his  mediatorial 
office  confirmed  and  perfected ;  and  it  was  so,  by  that 
proclamation  of  the  Name.  The  reason  for  this  marvel- 
lous gift  is  next  set  forth  as  being  God's  own  uncondi- 
tional grace  and  mercy.    He  is  His  own  motive,  His 

N 


194  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxiii. 

own  reason.  Just  as  the  independent  and  absolute 
fullness  of  His  being  is  expressed  by  the  name  '  I  am 
that  I  am,'  so  the  independent  and  absolute  freeness 
of  His  mercy,  whether  in  granting  Moses'  prayer  or  in 
pardoning  the  people,  is  expressed  by  'I  will  shew 
mercy  on  whom  I  will  shew  mercy.'  Not  till  all  this 
exuberance  of  gracious  answer  has  smoothed  the  way 
does  the  denial  of  the  impossible  request  come;  and 
even  then  it  is  so  worded  as  to  lay  all  the  emphasis  on 
what  is  granted,  and  to  show  that  the  refusal  is  but 
another  phase  of  love.  The  impossibility  of  beholding 
the  Face  is  reiterated,  and  then  the  careful  provisions 
which  God  will  make  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  possible 
part  of  the  bold  wish  are  minutely  detailed.  The  dis- 
tinction between  the  revealable  and  unrevealable, 
which  has  been  already  expressed  by  the  contrast  of 
'  glory '  and  '  grace,'  now  appears  in  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  'face'  which  cannot  be  looked  on,  and  the 
'  back '  which  may  be. 

Human  language  and  thought  are  out  of  their  depth 
here.  We  must  be  content  to  see  a  dim  splendour 
shining  through  the  cloudy  words,  to  know  that  there 
was  granted  to  one  man  a  realisation  of  God's  presence, 
and  a  revelation  of  His  character,  so  far  transcending 
ordinary  experiences  as  that  it  was  fitly  called  sight, 
but  yet  as  far  beneath  the  glory  of  His  being  as  the 
comparatively  imperfect  knowledge  of  a  man's  form, 
when  seen  only  from  behind,  is  beneath  that  derived 
from  looking  him  in  the  face. 

But  whatever  was  the  singular  prerogative  of  the 
lawgiver,  as  he  gazed  from  the  cleft  of  the  rock  at  the 
receding  glory,  we  see  more  than  he  ever  did ;  and  the 
Christian  child,  who  looks  upon  the  '  glory  of  God  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ,'  has  a  vision  which  outshines  the 


vs.  12-23]  GOD  PROCLAIMING  HIS  NAME  195 

flashing  radiance  that  shone  round  Moses.  It  deepened 
his  convictions,  confirmed  his  faith,  added  to  his  assur- 
ance of  his  divine  commission,  but  only  added  to  his 
knowledge  of  God  by  the  proclamation  of  the  Name, 
and  that  Name  is  more  fully  proclaimed  in  our  ears. 
Sinai,  vt^ith  all  its  thunders,  is  silent  before  Calvary. 
And  he  vp^ho  has  Jesus  Christ  to  declare  God's  Name  to 
him  need  not  envy  the  lawgiver  on  the  mountain,  nor 
even  the  saints  in  heaven. 


GOD  PROCLAIMING  HIS  OWN  NAME 

'The  Lord  passed  by  before  him,  and  proclaimed.  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God, 
merciful  and  gracious,  longsuffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth.'— 
Exodus  xxxiv.  6. 

This  great  event  derives  additional  significance  and 
grandeur  from  the  place  in  which  it  stands.  It  follows 
the  hideous  act  of  idolatry  in  which  the  levity  and  sin- 
fulness of  Israel  reached  their  climax.  The  trumpet  of 
Sinai  had  hardly  ceased  to  peal,  and  there  in  the  rocky 
solitudes,  in  full  view  of  the  mount  '  that  burned  with 
fire,'  while  the  echoes  of  the  thunder  and  the  Voice 
still  lingered,  one  might  say,  among  the  cliffs,  that 
mob  of  abject  cowards  were  bold  enough  to  shake  off 
their  allegiance  to  God,  and,  forgetful  of  all  the  past, 
plunged  into  idolatry,  and  wallowed  in  sensuous  de- 
lights. What  a  contrast  between  Moses  on  the  mount 
and  Aaron  and  the  people  in  the  plain !  Then  comes 
the  wonderful  story  of  the  plague  and  of  Moses'  inter- 
cession, followed  by  the  high  request  of  Moses,  so 
strange  and  yet  so  natural  at  such  a  time,  for  the 
vision  of  God's  '  glory.'  Into  all  the  depths  of  that  I  do 
not  need  to  plunge.    Enough  that  he  is  told  that  his 


196  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxxiv. 

desire  is  beyond  the  possibilities  of  creatural  life. 
The  mediator  and  lawgiver  cannot  rise  beyond  the 
bounds  of  human  limitations.  But  what  can  be  shall 
be.  God's  *  goodness '  will  pass  before  him.  Then  comes 
this  wonderful  advance  in  the  progress  of  divine  reve- 
lation. If  we  remember  the  breach  of  the  Covenant, 
and  then  turn  to  these  words,  considered  as  evoked  by 
the  people's  sin,  they  become  very  remarkable.  If  we 
consider  them  as  the  answer  to  Moses'  desire,  they  are 
no  less  so.  Taking  these  two  thoughts  with  us,  let  us 
consider  them  in — 

I.  The  answer  to  the  request  for  a  sensuous  mani- 
festation. 

The  request  is  *  show  me,'  as  if  some  visible  mani- 
festation were  desired  and  expected,  or,  if  not  a  vis- 
ible, at  least  a  direct  perception  of  Jehovah's  '  glory.* 
Moses  desires  that  he,  as  mediator  and  lawgiver,  may 
have  some  closer  knowledge.  The  answer  to  his  re- 
quest is  a  word,  the  articulate  proclamation  of  the 
'  Name '  of  the  Lord.  It  is  higher  than  all  mani- 
festation to  sense,  which  was  what  Moses  had  asked. 
Here  there  is  no  symbol  as  of  the  Lord  in  the  'cloud.' 
The  divine  manifestation  is  impossible  to  sense,  and 
that,  too,  not  by  reason  of  man's  limitations,  but  by 
reason  of  God's  nature.  The  manifestation  to  spirit  in 
full  immediate  perception  is  impossible  also.  It  has 
to  be  maintained  that  we  know  God  only  *  in  part ' ; 
but  it  does  not  follow  that  our  knowledge  is  only 
representative,  or  is  not  of  Him  *as  He  is.'  Though 
not  whole  it  is  real,  so  far  as  it  goes. 

But  this  is  not  the  highest  form.  Words  and  propo- 
sitions can  never  reveal  so  fully,  nor  with  such  certitude, 
as  a  personal  revelation.  But  we  have  Christ's  life, 
'  God  manifest ' :  not  words  about  God,  but  the  mani- 


V.  6]     GOD  PROCLAIMING  HIS  NAME    197 

festation  of  the  very  divine  nature  itself  in  action. 

*  Merciful': — and  we  see  Jesus  going  about  *  doing  good.' 

•  Gracious,'  and  we  see  Him  welcoming  to  Himself  all 
the  weary,  and  ever  bestowing  of  the  treasures  of  His 
love.  '  Longsuffering': — 'Father!  forgive  them!'  God 
is  'plenteous  in  mercy  and  in  truth,'  forgiving  trans- 
gression and  sin  : — *  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee.' 

How  different  it  all  is  when  we  have  deeds,  a  human 
life,  on  which  to  base  our  belief!  How  much  more 
certain,  as  well  as  coming. closer  to  our  hearts !  Merely 
verbal  statements  need  proof,  they  need  warming.  In 
Christ's  showing  us  the  Father  they  are  changed  as 
from  a  painting  to  a  living  being ;  they  are  brought 
out  of  the  region  of  abstractions  into  the  concrete. 

♦  And  so  the  word  had  breath,  and  wrought 
With  human  hands  the  creed  of  creeds.' 

'Show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us.'  *He  that 
hath  seen  Me,  hath  seen  the  Father.' 

Is  there  any  other  form  of  manifestation  possible? 
Yes ;  in  heaven  there  will  be  a  closer  vision  of  Christ 
— ^not  of  God.  Our  knowledge  of  Christ  will  there  be 
expanded,  deepened,  made  more  direct.  We  know  not 
how.  There  will  be  bodily  changes:  *  Like  unto  the  body 
of  His  glory,'  etc.  *  We  shall  be  like  Him.'  *  Changed 
from  glory  to  glory.' 

II.  The  answer  to  the  desire  to  see  God's  glory. 

The  '  Glory '  was  the  technical  name  for  the  lustrous 
cloud  that  hung  over  the  Mercy-seat,  but  here  it  prob- 
ably means  more  generally  some  visible  manifestation 
of  the  divine  presence.  What  Moses  craved  to  see  with 
his  eyes  was  the  essential  divine  light.  That  vision 
he  did  not  receive,  but  what  he  did  receive  was  partly 


198  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.  xxxiv. 

a  visible  manifestation,  though  not  of  the  dazzling 
radiance  which  no  human  eye  can  see  and  live,  and  still 
more  instructive  and  encouraging,  the  communication 
in  words  of  that  shining  galaxy  of  attributes,  '  the 
glories  that  compose  Thy  name.'  In  the  name  specially 
so-called,  the  name  Jehovah,  was  revealed  absolute 
eternal  Being,  and  in  the  accompanying  declaration  of 
so-called  '  attributes '  were  thrown  into  high  relief  the 
two  qualities  of  merciful  forgiveness  and  retributive 
justice.  The  '  attributes '  which  separate  God  from  us, 
and  in  which  vulgar  thought  finds  the  marks  of  divinity, 
are  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  Nothing  is  said  of 
omniscience,  omnipresence,  and  the  like,  but  forgive- 
ness and  justice,  of  both  of  which  men  carry  analogues 
in  themselves,  are  proclaimed  by  the  very  voice  of  God 
as  those  by  which  He  desires  that  He  should  be  chiefly 
conceived  of  by  us. 

The  true  '  glory  of  God '  is  His  pardoning  Love.  That 
is  the  glowing  heart  of  the  divine  brightness.  If  so, 
then  the  very  heart  of  that  heart  of  brightness, 
the  very  glory  of  the  '  Glory  of  God,'  is  the  Christ,  in 
whom  we  behold  that  which  was  at  once  *  the  glory  as 
of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father '  and  the  '  Glory  of 
the  Father.' 

In  Jesus  these  two  elements,  pardoning  love  and 
retributive  justice,  wondrously  meet,  and  the  mystery 
of  the  possibility  of  their  harmonious  co-operation  in 
the  divine  government  is  solved,  and  becomes  the 
occasion  for  the  rapturous  gratitude  of  man  and  the 
wondering  adoration  of  principalities  and  powers  in 
heavenly  places.  Jesus  has  manifested  the  divine 
mercifulness  ;  Jesus  has  borne  the  burden  of  sin  and 
the  weight  of  the  divine  Justice.  The  lips  that  said 
•  Be  of  good  cheer,  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,'  also  cried, 


V.  6]  SIN  AND  FORGIVENESS  199 

•  Why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me  ? '  The  tenderest  mani- 
festation of  the  God  '  plenteous  in  mercy  .  .  .  forgiving 
iniquity,'  and  the  most  awe-kindling  manifestation  of 
the  God  'that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty,'  are 
fused  into  one,  when  we  '  behold  that  Lamb  of  God  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.' 

III.  The  answer  to  a  great  sin. 

This  Revelation  is  the  immediate  issue  of  Israel's 
great  apostasy. 

Sin  evokes  His  pardoning  mercy.  This  insignificant 
speck  in  Creation  has  been  the  scene  of  the  wonder  of 
the  Incarnation,  not  because  its  magnitude  was  great, 
but  because  its  need  was  desperate.  Men,  because  they 
are  sinners,  have  been  subjects  of  an  experience  more 
precious  than  the  '  angels  which  excel  in  strength '  and 
hearken  '  to  the  voice  of  His  word '  have  known  or  can 
know.  The  wilder  the  storm  of  human  evil  roars  and 
rages,  the  deeper  and  louder  is  the  voice  that  peals 
across  the  storm.  So  for  us  all  Christ  is  the  full  and 
final  revelation  of  God's  grace.  The  last,  because  the 
perfect  embodiment  of  it;  the  sole,  because  the  suffi- 
cient manifestation  of  it.  *  See  that  ye  refuse  not  Him 
that  speaketh.' 


SIN  AND  FORGIVENESS 

' .  .  .  Forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty.  .  .  .'—Exodus  xxxiv.  7. 

The  former  chapter  tells  us  of  the  majesty  of  the  divine 
revelation  as  it  was  made  to  Moses  on  'the  mount  of  God.' 
Let  us  notice  that,  whatever  was  the  visible  pomp  of 
the  external  Tbeophany  to  the  senses,  the  true  revela- 


200  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [oh.xxxiv. 

tion  lay  in  the  proclamatiou.  of  the  *  Name ' ;  the 
revelation  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart;  and  such 
a  revelation  had  never  before  fallen  on  mortal  ears. 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  very  system  which  was 
emphatically  one  of  law  and  retribution  should  have 
been  thus  heralded  by  a  word  which  is  perfectly  *  evan- 
gelical' in  its  whole  tone.  That  fact  should  have 
prevented  many  errors  as  to  the  relation  of  Judaism 
and  Christianity.  The  very  centre  of  the  former  was 
'God  is  love,'  'merciful  and  gracious,'  and  if  there 
follows  the  difficult  addition  'visiting  the  iniquities,' 
etc.,  the  New  Testament  adds  its  'Amen'  to  that. 
True,  the  harmony  of  the  two  and  the  great  revela- 
tion of  the  means  of  forgiveness  lay  far  beyond  the 
horizon  of  Moses  and  his  people,  but  none  the  less 
was  it  the  message  of  Judaism  that '  there  is  forgive- 
ness with  Thee  that  Thou  mayest  be  feared.'  The 
law  spoke  of  retribution,  justice,  duty,  and  sin,  but  side 
by  side  with  the  law  was  another  institution,  the  sacri- 
ficial worship,  which  proclaimed  that  God  was  full 
of  love,  and  that  the  sinner  was  welcomed  to  His  side. 
And  it  is  the  root  of  many  errors  to  transfer  New 
Testament  language  about  the  law  to  the  whole  Old 
Testament  system.  But,  passing  away  from  this,  I 
wish  to  look  at  two  points  in  these  words. 

I.  The  characteristics  of  human  sins. 

II.  The  divine  treatment  of  them. 

I.  The  characteristics  of  human  sins. 

Observe  the  threefold  form  of  expression — iniquity 
and  transgression  and  sin. 

It  seems  natural  that  in  the  divine  proclamation  of 
His  own  holy  character,  the  sinful  nature  of  men 
should  be  characterised  with  all  the  fervid  energy  of 


V.  7]  Sm  AND  FORGIVENESS  201 

such  words ;  for  the  accumulation  even  of  synonyms 
would  serve  a  moral  purpose,  expressive  at  once  of  the 
divine  displeasure  against  sin,  and  of  the  free  full  pardon 
for  it  in  all  its  possible  forms.  But  the  words  are  very 
far  from  all  meaning  the  same  thing.  They  all  desig- 
nate the  same  actions,  but  from  different  points  of 
view,  and  with  reference  to  different  phases  and  quali- 
ties of  sin. 

Now  these  three  expressions  are  inadequately  repre- 
sented by  the  English  translation. 

*  Iniquity  '  literally  means  '  twisting,'  or  '  something 
twisted,'  and  is  thus  the  opposite  of  '  righteousness,'  or 
rather  of  what  is  '  straight.'     It  is  thus  like  our  own 

*  right '  and  '  wrong,'  or  like  the  Latin  '  in-iquity '  (by 
which  it  is  happily  enough  rendered  in  our  version). 
So  looking  at  this  word  and  the  thoughts  which  connect 
themselves  with  it,  we  come  to  this : — 

(1)  All  sin  of  every  sort  is  deviation  from  a  standard 
to  which  we  ought  to  be  conformed. 

Note  the  graphic  force  of  the  word  as  giving  the 
straight  line  to  which  our  conduct  ought  to  run  parallel, 
and  the  contrast  between  it  and  the  wavering  curves 
into  which  our  lives  meander,  like  the  lines  in  a  child's 
copy-book,  or  a  rude  attempt  at  drawing  a  circle  at  one 
sweep  of  the  pencil.    Herbert  speaks  of 

•  The  crooked  wandering  ways  in  which  we  live.* 

There  is  a  path  which  is  '  right '  and  one  which  is 

*  wrong,'  whether  we  believe  so  or  not. 

There  are  hedges  and  limitations  for  us  all.  This  law 
extends  to  the  ordering  of  all  things,  whether  great  or 
small.  If  a  line  be  absolutely  straight,  and  we  are 
running  another  parallel  to  it,  the  smallest  possible 
wavering  is  fatal  to  our  copy.    And  the  smallest  deflec- 


202  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxxiv. 

tion,  if  produced,  will  run  out  into  an  ever-widening 
distance  from  the  straight  line. 

There  is  nothing  which  it  is  more  difficult  to  get  into 
men's  belief  than  the  sinfulness  of  little  sins ;  nothing 
more  difficult  to  cure  ourselves  of  than  the  habit  of 
considering  quantity  rather  than  quality  in  moral 
questions.  What  a  solemn  thought  it  is,  that  of  a 
great  absolute  law  of  right  rising  serene  above  us, 
embracing  everything !  And  this  is  the  first  idea  that 
is  here  in  our  text — a  grave  and  deep  one. 

But  the  second  of  these  expressions  for  sin  literally 
means  'apostasy,'  'rebellion,'  not  'transgression,'  and 
this  word  brings  in  a  more  solemn  thought  yet,  viz. : — 

(2)  Every  sin  is  apostasy  from  or  rebellion  against 
God. 

The  former  word  dealt  only  with  abstract  thought  of 
a  '  law,'  this  with  a  '  Lawgiver.' 

Our  obligations  are  not  merely  to  a  law,  but  to  Him 
who  enacted  it.  So  it  becomes  plain  that  the  very 
centre  of  all  sin  is  the  shaking  off  of  obedience  to  God. 
Living  to  '  self '  is  the  inmost  essence  of  every  act  of 
evil,  and  may  be  as  virulently  active  in  the  smallest 
trifle  as  in  the  most  awful  crime. 

How  infinitely  deeper  and  darker  this  makes  sin 
to  be! 

When  one  thinks  of  our  obligations  and  of  our 
dependence,  of  God's  love  and  care,  what  an  *  evil  and 
a  bitter  thing '  every  sin  becomes ! 

Urge  this  terrible  contrast  of  a  loving  Father  and  a 
disobedient  child. 

This  idea  brings  out  the  ingratitude  of  all  sin. 

But  the  third  word  here  used  literally  means  'missing 
an  aim,'  and  so  we  come  to 

(3)  Every  sin  misses  the  goal  at  which  we  should  aim, 


V.7]  SIN  AND  FORGIVENESS  203 

There  may  be  a  double  idea  here — that  of  failing  in 
the  great  purpose  of  our  being,  which  is  already  par- 
tially included  in  the  first  of  these  three  expressions,  or 
that  of  missing  the  aim  which  we  proposed  to  ourselves 
in  the  act.    All  sin  is  a  failure. 

By  it  we  fall  short  of  the  loftiest  purpose.  Whatever 
we  gain  we  lose  more. 

Every  life  which  has  sin  in  it  is  a  '  failure.'  You  may 
be  prosperous,  brilliant,  successful,  but  you  are  'a 
failure.' 

For  consider  what  human  life  might  be  :  full  of  God 
and  full  of  joy.  Consider  what  the  *  fruits '  of  sin  are. 
'  Apples  of  Sodom.'  How  sin  leads  to  sorrow.  This  is  an 
inevitable  law.  Sin  fails  to  secure  what  it  sought  for. 
All  *  wrong '  is  a  mistake,  a  blunder.     •  Thou  fool ! ' 

So  this  word  suggests  the  futility  of  sin  considered 
in  its  consequences.  '  These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel ! ' 
*  The  end  of  these  things  is  death.' 

II.  The  divine  treatment  of  sins. 

'  Forgiving,'  and  yet  not  suffering  them  to  go  un- 
punished. 

(1)  God  forgives,  and  yet  He  does  not  leave  sin  un- 
punished, for  He  will '  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.' 

The  one  word  refers  to  His  love.  His  heart ;  the  other 
to  the  retributions  which  are  inseparable  from  the 
very  course  of  nature. 

Forgiveness  is  the  flow  of  God's  love  to  all,  and  the 
welcoming  back  to  His  favour  of  all  who  come.  For- 
giveness likewise  includes  the  escape  from  the  extreme 
and  uttermost  consequences  of  sin  in  this  life  and  in 
the  next,  the  sense  of  God's  displeasure  here,  and  the 
final  separation  from  Him,  which  is  eternal  death. 
Forgiveness  is  not  inconsistent  with  retribution.  There 
must  needs  be  retribution,  from — 


204  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxxiv. 

(a)  The  very  constitution  of  our  nature. 

Conscience,  our  spiritual  nature,  our  habits  all 
demand  it. 

(6)  The  constitution  of  the  world. 

In  it  all  things  work  under  God,  but  only  for  *  good  * 
to  them  who  love  God.  To  all  others,  sooner  or  later, 
the  Nemesis  comes.  '  Ye  shall  eat  of  the  fruit  of  your 
doings.' 

(2)  God  forgives,  and  therefore  He  does  not  leave  sin 
unpunished.  It  is  divine  mercy  that  strikes.  The  end 
of  His  chastisement  is  to  separate  us  from  our  sins. 

(3)  Divine  forgiveness  and  retributive  justice  both 
centre  in  the  revelation  of  the  Cross. 

To  us  this  message  comes.  It  was  the  hidden  heart 
of  the  Mosaic  system.  It  was  the  revelation  of  Sinai. 
To  Israel  it  was  *  proclaimed '  in  thunder  and  darkness, 
and  the  way  of  forgiveness  and  the  harmony  of 
righteousness  and  mercy  were  veiled.  To  us  it  is 
proclaimed  from  Calvary.  There  in  full  light  the  Lord 
passes  before  us  and  proclaims, '  I  am  the  Lord,  the  Lord 
God  merciful  and  gracious.'  '  Ye  are  come  .  . .  unto 
Jesus.'  'See  that  ye  refuse  not  Him  that  speaketh.' 
'  This  is  my  Beloved  Son,  hear  Him  1 ' 


BLESSED  AND  TRAGIC  UNCONSCIOUSNESS 

'.  .  .  Moses  wist  not  that  the  skin  of  his  face  shone  while  he  talked  with 
Him.'— Exodus  xxxiv.  29. 

* . . .  And  Samson  wist  not  that  the  Lord  had  departed  from  him.'— Judobb  xyL  20. 

The  recurrence  of  the  same  phrase  in  two  such  opposite 
connections  is  very  striking.  Moses,  fresh  from  the 
mountain  of  vision,  where  he  had  gazed  on  as  much 
of  the  glory  of  God  as  was  accessible  to  man,  caught 


V.  29]      TRAGIC  UNCONSCIOUSNESS        205 

some  gleam  of  the  light  which  he  adoringly  beheld; 
and  a  strange  radiance  sat  on  his  face,  unseen  by  him- 
self, but  visible  to  all  others.  So,  supreme  beauty  of 
character  comes  from  beholding  God  and  talking  with 
Him  ;  and  the  bearer  of  it  is  unconscious  of  it. 

Samson,  fresh  from  his  coarse  debauch,  and  shorn  of 
the  locks  which  he  had  vowed  to  keep,  strides  out  into 
the  air,  and  tries  his  former  feats ;  but  his  strength  has 
left  him  because  the  Lord  has  left  him ;  and  the  Lord 
has  left  him  because,  in  his  fleshly  animalism,  he  has 
left  the  Lord.  Like,  but  most  unlike,  Moses,  he  knows 
not  his  weakness.  So  strength,  like  beauty,  is  depen- 
dent upon  contact  with  God,  and  may  ebb  away  when 
that  is  broken,  and  the  man  may  be  all  unaware  of  his 
weakness  till  he  tries  his  power,  and  ignominiously 
fails. 

These  two  contrasted  pictures,  the  one  so  mysteri- 
ously grand  and  the  other  so  tragic,  may  well  help  to 
illustrate  for  us  truths  that  should  be  burned  into  our 
minds  and  our  memories. 

I.  Note,  then,  the  first  thought  which  they  both  teach 
us,  that  beauty  and  strength  come  from  communion 
with  God. 

In  both  the  cases  with  which  we  are  dealing  these 
were  of  a  merely  material  sort.  The  light  on  Moses' 
face  and  the  strength  in  Samson's  arm  were,  at  the 
highest,  but  types  of  something  far  higher  and  nobler 
than  themselves.  But  still,  the  presence  of  the  one  and 
the  departure  of  the  other  alike  teach  us  the  conditions 
on  which  we  may  possess  both  in  nobler  form,  and  the 
certainty  of  losing  them  if  we  lose  hold  of  God. 

Moses'  experience  teaches  us  that  the  loftiest  beauty 
of  character  comes  from  communion  with  God.  That 
Is  the  use  that  the  Apostle  makes  of  this  remarkable 


206  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.xxxiv. 

incident  in  2  Cor.  iii.,  where  he  takes  the  light  that 
shone  from  Moses'  face  as  being  the  symbol  of  the 
better  lustre  that  gleams  from  all  those  who  'behold 
(or  reflect)  the  glory  of  the  Lord '  with  unveiled  faces, 
and,  by  beholding,  are  '  changed  into  the  likeness '  of 
that  on  which  they  gaze  with  adoration  and  longing. 
The  great  law  to  which,  almost  exclusively,  Christianity 
commits  the  perfecting  of  individual  character  is  this  : 
Look  at  Him  till  you  become  like  Him,  and  in  beholding, 
be  changed.  *  Tell  me  the  company  a  man  keeps,  and 
I  will  tell  you  his  character,'  says  the  old  proverb. 
And  what  is  true  on  the  lower  levels  of  daily  life,  that 
most  men  become  assimilated  to  the  complexion  of 
those  around  them,  especially  if  they  admire  or  love 
them,  is  the  great  principle  whereby  worship,  which 
is  desire  and  longing  and  admiration  in  the  superlative 
degree,  stamps  the  image  of  the  worshipped  upon  the 
character  of  the  worshipper.  *  They  followed  after 
vanity,  and  have  become  vain,'  says  one  of  the  prophets, 
gathering  up  into  a  sentence  the  whole  philosophy  of 
the  degradation  of  humanity  by  reason  of  idolatry  and 
the  worship  of  false  gods.  '  They  that  make  them  are 
like  unto  them ;  so  is  every  one  that  trusteth  in  them.' 
The  law  works  upwards  as  well  as  downwards,  for 
whom  we  worship  we  declare  to  be  infinitely  good ; 
whom  we  worship  we  long  to  be  like ;  whom  we  wor- 
ship we  shall  certainly  imitate. 

Thus,  brethren,  the  practical,  plain  lesson  that  comes 
from,  this  thought  is  simply  this :  If  you  want  to  be 
pure  and  good,  noble  and  gentle,  sweet  and  tender ;  if 
you  desire  to  be  delivered  from  your  own  weaknesses 
and  selfish,  sinful  idiosyncrasies,  the  way  to  secure 
your  desire  is,  '  Look  unto  Me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the 
ends  of  the  earth.'    Contemplation,  which  is  love  and 


V.  29]      TRAGIC  UNCONSCIOUSNESS       207 

longing,  is  the  paren^  of  all  effort  that  succeeds. 
Contemplation  of  God  in  Christ  is  the  master-key  that 
opens  this  door,  and  makes  it  possible  for  the  lowliest 
and  the  foulest  amongst  us  to  cherish  unpresumptu- 
ous  hopes  of  '  being  like  Him '  if  we  see  Him  as  He  is 
revealed  here,  and  perfectly  like  Him  when  yonder  we 
see  Him  *  as  He  is.^ 

There  have  been  in  the  past,  and  there  are  to-day, 
thousands  of  simple  souls,  shut  out  by  lowliness  of 
position  and  other  circumsitances  from  all  the  refining 
and  ennobling  influences  of  which  the  world  makes  so 
much,  who  yet  in  character  and  bearing,  ay,  and 
sometimes  in  the  very  look  of  their  meek  faces,  are 
living  witnesses  how  mighty  to  transform  a  nature 
is  the  power  of  loving  gazing  upon  Jesus  Christ.  All 
of  us  who  have  had  much  to  do  with  Christians  of  the 
humbler  classes  know  that.  There  is  no  influence  to 
refine  and  beautify  men  like  that  of  living  near  Jesus 
Christ,  and  walking  in  the  light  of  that  Beauty  which 
is  *  the  effulgence  of  the  divine  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  His  Person.' 

And  in  like  manner  as  beauty  so  strength  comes 
from  communion  with  God  and  laying  hold  on  Him. 
We  can  only  think  of  Samson  as  a  '  saint '  in  a  very 
modified  fashion,  and  present  him  as  an  example  in  a 
very  limited  degree.  His  dependence  upon  divine 
power  was  rude,  and  divorced  from  elevation  of  char- 
acter and  morality,  but  howsoever  imperfect,  frag- 
mentary, and  I  might  almost  say  to  our  more  trained 
eyes,  grotesque,  it  looks,  yet  there  was  a  reality  in  it ; 
and  when  the  man  was  faithless  to  his  vow,  and 
allowed  the  crafty  harlot's  scissors  to  shear  from  his 
head  the  token  of  his  consecration,  it  was  because  the 
reality  of  the  consecration,  rude  and  external  as  that 


208  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxiv. 

consecration  was,  both  in  itself  and  in  its  consequences, 
had  passed  away  from  him. 

And  so  we  may  learn  the  lesson,  taught  at  once  by 
the  flashing  face  of  the  lawgiver  and  the  enfeebled 
force  of  the  hero,  that  the  two  poles  of  perfectness  in 
humanity,  so  often  divorced  from  one  another — beauty 
and  strength — have  one  common  source,  and  depend 
for  their  loftiest  position  upon  the  same  thing.  God 
possesses  both  in  supremest  degree,  being  the  Almighty 
and  the  All-fair ;  and  we  possess  them  in  limited,  but 
yet  possibly  progressive,  measure,  through  dependence 
upon  Him.  The  true  force  of  character,  and  the  true 
power  for  work,  and  every  real  strength  which  is  not 
disguised  weakness,  '  a  lath  painted  to  look  like  iron,' 
come  on  condition  of  our  keeping  close  by  God.  The 
Fountain  is  open  for  you  all ;  see  to  it  that  you  resort 
thither. 

II.  And  now  the  second  thought  of  my  text  is  that 
the  bearer  of  the  radiance  is  unconscious  of  it. 

'  Moses  wist  not  that  the  skin  of  his  face  shone.'  In 
all  regions  of  life,  the  consummate  apex  and  crowning 
charm  of  excellence  is  unconsciousness  of  excellence. 
Whenever  a  man  begins  to  imagine  that  he  is  good,  he 
begins  to  be  bad  ;  and  every  virtue  and  beauty  of  char- 
acter is  robbed  of  some  portion  of  its  attractive  fairness 
when  the  man  who  bears  it  knows,  or  fancies,  that  he 
possesses  it.  The  charm  of  childhood  is  its  perfect  un- 
consciousness, and  the  man  has  to  win  back  the  child's 
heritage,  and  become  *  as  a  little  child,'  if  he  would  enter 
into  and  dwell  in  the  '  Kingdom  of  Heaven.'  And  so  in 
the  loftiest  region  of  all,  that  of  the  religious  life,  you 
may  be  sure  that  the  more  a  man  is  like  Christ,  the 
less  he  knows  it ;  and  the  better  he  is,  the  less  he 
suspects  it.    The  reasons  why  that  is  so,  point,  at  the 


V.  29]      TRAGIC  UNCONSCIOUSNESS       209 

same  time,  to  the  ways  by  which  we  may  attain  to  this 
blessed  self-oblivion.  So  let  me  put  just  in  a  word  or 
two  some  simple,  practical  thoughts. 

Let  us,  then,  try  to  lose  ourselves  in  Jesus  Christ. 
That  way  of  self-oblivion  is  emancipation  and  blessed- 
ness and  power.  It  is  safe  for  us  to  leave  all  thoughts 
of  our  miserable  selves  behind  us,  if  instead  of  them 
we  have  the  thought  of  that  great,  sweet,  dear  Lord, 
filling  mind  and  heart.  A  man  walking  on  a  tight-rope 
will  be  far  more  likely  to.  fall,  if  he  is  looking  at  his 
toes,  than  if  he  is  looking  at  the  point  to  which  he  is 
going.  If  we  fix  our  eyes  on  Jesus,  then  we  can  safely 
look,  neither  to  our  feet  nor  to  the  gulfs  ;  but  straight 
at  Him  gazing,  we  shall  straight  to  Him  advance. 
•  Looking  off '  from  ourselves  '  unto  Jesus '  is  safe ; 
looking  off  anywhere  else  is  peril.  Seek  that  self- 
oblivion  which  comes  from  self  being  swallowed  up 
in  the  thought  of  the  Lord. 

And  again,  I  would  say,  think  constantly  and 
longingly  of  the  unattained.  'Brethren!  I  count  not 
myself  to  have  apprehended.'  Endless  aspiration  and 
a  stinging  consciousness  of  present  imperfection  are 
the  loftiest  states  of  man  here  below.  The  beholders 
down  in  the  valley,  when  they  look  up,  may  see  our 
figures  against  the  skyline,  and  fancy  us  at  the 
summit,  but  our  loftier  elevation  reveals  untrodden 
heights  beyond;  and  we  have  only  risen  so  high  in 
order  to  discern  more  clearly  how  much  higher  we 
have  to  rise.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  present  is  the 
condition  of  excellence  in  all  pursuits  of  life,  and  in 
the  Christian  life  even  more  eminently  than  in  all 
others,  because  the  goal  to  be  attained  is  in  its  very 
nature  infinite;  and  therefore  ensures  the  blessed 
certainty  of    continual    progress,    accompanied    here, 

o 


210  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.  xxxiv. 

indeed,  with  the  sting  and  bite  of  a  sense  of  imperfec- 
tion, but  one  day  to  be  only  sweetness,  as  we  think  of 
how  much  there  is  yet  to  be  won  in  addition  to  the 
perfection  of  the  present. 

So,  dear  friends,  the  best  way  to  keep  ourselves 
unconscious  of  present  attainments  is  to  set  our  faces 
forward,  and  to  make  '  all  experience '  as  *  an  arch 
wherethro'  gleams  that  untra veiled  world  to  which  we 
move.'    '  Moses  wist  not  that  the  skin  of  his  face  shone.' 

The  third  practical  suggestion  that  I  would  make  is, 
cultivate  a  clear  sense  of  your  own  imperfections.  We 
do  not  need  to  try  to  learn  our  goodness.  That  will 
suggest  itself  to  us  only  too  clearly ;  but  what  we  do 
need  is  to  have  a  very  clear  sense  of  our  shortcomings 
and  failures,  our  faults  of  temper,  our  faults  of  desire, 
our  faults  in  our  relations  to  our  fellows,  and  all  the 
other  evils  that  still  buzz  and  sting  and  poison  our 
blood.  Has  not  the  best  of  us  enough  of  these  to  knock 
all  the  conceit  out  of  us  ?  A  true  man  will  never  be  so 
much  ashamed  of  himself  as  when  he  is  praised,  for  it 
will  always  send  him  to  look  into  the  deep  places  of 
his  heart,  and  there  will  be  a  swarm  of  ugly,  creeping 
things  under  the  stones  there,  if  he  will  only  turn 
them  up  and  look  beneath.  So  let  us  lose  ourselves 
in  Christ,  let  us  set  our  faces  to  the  unattained  future, 
let  us  clearly  understand  our  own  faults  and  sins. 

III.  Thirdly,  the  strong  man  made  weak  is  uncon- 
scious of  his  weakness. 

I  do  not  mean  here  to  touch  at  all  upon  the  general 
thought  that,  by  its  very  nature,  all  evil  tends  to  make 
us  insensitive  to  its  presence.  Conscience  becomes 
dull  by  practice  of  sin  and  by  neglect  of  conscience, 
until  that  which  at  first  was  as  sensitive  as  the  palm 
of  a  little  child's  hand  becomes  as  if  it  were  '  seared 


V.  29]      TRAGIC  UNCONSCIOUSNESS       211 

with  a  hot  iron.'  The  foulness  of  the  atmosphere  of 
a  crowded  hall  is  not  perceived  by  the  people  in  it.  It 
needs  a  man  to  come  in  from  the  outer  air  to  detect 
it.  We  can  accustom  ourselves  to  any  mephitic  and 
poisonous  atmosphere,  and  many  of  us  live  in  one  all 
our  days,  and  do  not  know  that  there  is  any  need  of 
ventilation  or  that  the  air  is  not  perfectly  sweet.  The 
'  deceitf  ulness '  of  sin  is  its  great  weapon. 

But  what  I  desire  to  point  out  is  an  even  sadder 
thing  than  that — namely,  that  Christian  people  may 
lose  their  strength  because  they  let  go  their  hold  upon 
God,  and  know  nothing  about  it.  Spiritual  declension, 
all  unconscious  of  its  own  existence,  is  the  very 
history  of  hundreds  of  nominal  Christians  amongst 
us,  and,  I  dare  say,  of  some  of  us.  The  very  fact 
that  you  do  not  suppose  the  statement  to  have  the 
least  application  to  yourself  is  perhaps  the  very  sign 
that  it  does  apply.  When  the  lifeblood  is  pouring 
out  of  a  man,  he  faints  before  he  dies.  The  swoon  of 
unconsciousness  is  the  condition  of  some  professing 
Christians.  Frost-bitten  limbs  are  quite  comfortable, 
and  only  tingle  when  circulation  is  coming  back.  I 
remember  a  great  elm-tree,  the  pride  of  an  avenue 
in  the  south,  that  had  spread  its  branches  for  more 
years  than  the  oldest  man  could  count,  and  stood, 
leafy  and  green.  Not  until  a  winter  storm  came  one 
night  and  laid  it  low  with  a  crash  did  anybody  suspect 
what  everybody  saw  in  the  morning — that  the  heart 
was  eaten  out  of  it,  and  nothing  left  but  a  shell 
of  bark.  Some  Christian  people  are  like  that;  they 
manage  to  grow  leaves,  and  even  some  fruit,  but  when 
the  storm  comes  they  will  go  down,  because  the  heart 
has  been  out  of  their  religion  for  years.  *  Samson  wist 
not  that  the  Lord  was  departed  from  him.' 


212  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS   [ch.  xxxiv. 

And  so,  brother,  because  there  are  so  many  things 
that  mask  the  ebbing  away  of  a  Christian  life,  and 
because  our  own  self-love  and  habits  come  in  to  hide 
declension,  let  me  earnestly  exhort  you  and  myself  to 
watch  ourselves  very  narrowly.  Unconsciousness  does 
not  mean  ignorant  presumption  or  presumptuous 
ignorance.  It  is  difficult  to  make  an  estimate  of  our- 
selves by  poking  into  our  own  sentiments  and  supposed 
feelings  and  convictions,  and  the  estimate  is  likely  to 
be  wrong.  There  is  a  better  way  than  that.  Two 
things  tell  what  a  man  is — one,  what  he  wants,  and 
the  other,  what  he  does.  As  the  will  is,  the  man  is. 
Where  do  the  currents  of  your  desires  set?  If  you 
watch  their  flow,  you  may  be  pretty  sure  whether  your 
religious  life  is  an  ebbing  or  a  rising  tide.  The  other 
way  to  ascertain  what  we  are  is  rigidly  to  examine 
and  judge  what  we  do.  '  Let  us  search  and  try  our 
ways,  and  turn  again  to  the  Lord.'  Actions  are  the 
true  test  of  a  man.  Conduct  is  the  best  revelation  of 
character,  especially  in  regard  to  ourselves.  So  let  us 
•watch  and  be  sober' — sober  in  our  estimate  of  our- 
selves, and  determined  to  find  every  lurking  evil,  and 
to  drag  it  forth  into  the  light. 

Again,  let  me  say,  let  us  ask  God  to  help  us.  *  Search 
me,  O  God!  and  try  me.'  We  shall  never  rightly  under- 
stand what  we  are,  unless  we  spread  ourselves  out 
before  Him  and  crave  that  Divine  Spirit,  who  is  •  the 
candle  of  the  Lord,'  to  be  carried  ever  in  our  hands  into 
the  secret  recesses  of  our  sinful  hearts.  '  Anoint  thine 
eyes  with  eye  salve  that  thou  mayest  see,'  and  get  the 
eye  salve  by  communion  with  God,  who  will  supply 
thee  a  standard  by  which  to  try  thy  poor,  stained, 
ragged  righteousness.  The  collyrium,  the  eye  salve, 
may  be,  will  be,  painful  when  it  is  rubbed  into  the 


V.  29]    AN  OLD  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST      213 

lids,  but  it  will  clear  the  sight;  and  the  first  work  of 
Him,  whose  dearest  name  is  Comforter,  is  to  convince 
of  sin. 

And,  last  of  all,  let  us  keep  near  to  Jesus  Christ,  near 
enough  to  Him  to  feel  His  touch,  to  hear  His  voice,  to 
see  His  face,  and  to  carry  down  with  us  into  the  valley 
some  radiance  on  our  countenances  which  may  tell 
even  the  world,  that  we  have  been  up  where  the  Light 
lives  and  reigns. 

'  Because  thou  sayest,.  I  am  rich  and  increased  with 
goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing,  and  knowest  not 
that  thou  art  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and 
blind,  and  naked,  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  Me  gold 
tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich ;  and  white 
raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  that  the 
shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not  appear ;  and  anoint 
thine  eyes  with  eye  salve,  that  thou  mayest  see,* 


AN  OLD  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST 

*  And  they  came,  every  one  whose  heart  stirred  him  np,  .nd  every  one  whom  his 
Bpirit  made  willing,  and  they  brought  the  Lord's  offering  to  the  work.  .  .  .'— 
Exodus  xxxv.  21. 

This  is  the  beginning  of  the  catalogue  of  contributions 
towards  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wilderness. 
It  emphasises  the  purely  spontaneous  and  voluntary 
character  of  the  gifts.  There  was  plenty  of  compulsory 
work,  of  statutory  contribution,  in  the  Old  Testament 
system  of  worship.  Sacrifices  and  tithes  and  other 
things  were  imperative,  but  the  Tabernacle  was  con- 
structed by  means  of  undemanded  offerings,  and  there 
were  parts  of  the  standing  ritual  which  were  left  to 
the  promptings  of  the  worshipper's  own  spirit.    There 


214  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxv. 

was  always  a  door  through  which  the  impulses  of 
devout  hearts  could  come  in,  to  animate  what  else 
would  have  become  dead,  mechanical  compliance  with 
prescribed  obligations.  That  spontaneous  surrender 
of  precious  things,  not  because  a  man  must  give  them, 
but  because  he  delights  in  letting  his  love  come  to 
the  surface  and  find  utterance  in  giving  which  is  still 
more  blessed  than  receiving,  had  but  a  narrow  and 
subordinate  sphere  of  action  assigned  to  it  in  the  legal 
system  of  the  Old  Covenant,  but  it  fills  the  whole 
sphere  of  Christianity,  and  becomes  the  only  kind  of 
offering  which  corresponds  to  its  genius  and  is  accept- 
able to  Christ.  We  may  look,  then,  not  merely  at  the 
words  of  our  text,  but  at  the  whole  section  of  which 
they  form  the  introduction,  and  find  large  lessons  for 
ourselves,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  one  form  of 
Christian  service  which  is  pecuniary  liberality,  but  in 
reference  to  all  which  we  have  to  do  for  Jesus  Christ, 
in  the  picture  which  it  gives  us  of  that  eager  crowd  of 
willing  givers,  flocking  to  the  presence  of  the  lawgiver, 
with  hands  laden  with  gifts  so  various  in  kind  and 
value,  but  all  precious  because  freely  and  delightedly 
brought,  and  all  needed  for  the  structure  of  God's  house. 

I.  We  have  set  forth  here  the  true  motive  of  accept- 
able service. 

♦  They  came,  every  one  whose  heart  stirred  him  up, 
and  every  one  whom  his  spirit  made  willing.'  There  is 
a  striking  metaphor  in  that  last  word.  Wherever  the 
spirit  is  touched  with  the  sweet  influences  of  God's 
love,  and  loves  and  gives  back  again,  that  spirit  is 
buoyant,  lifted,  raised  above  the  low,  flat  levels  where 
selfishness  feeds  fat  and  then  rots.  The  spirit  is 
raised  by  any  great  and  unselfish  emotion.  There  is 
buoyancy  and  glad  consciousness  of  elevation  in  all  the 


V.  21]    AN  OLD  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST       215 

self-sacrifice  of  love,  which  dilates  and  lifts  the  spirit 
as  the  light  gas  smoothes  out  the  limp  folds  of  silk  in 
a  balloon,  and  sends  it  heavenwards,  a  full  sphere. 
Only  service  or  surrender,  which  is  thus  cheerful 
because  it  is  the  natural  expression  of  love,  is  true 
service  in  God's  sight.  Whosoever,  then,  had  his  spirit 
raised  and  made  buoyant  by  a  great  glad  resolve  to 
give  up  some  precious  thing  for  God's  sanctuary,  came 
with  his  gift  in  his  hand,  and  he  and  it  were  accepted. 
That  trusting  of  men's  giving  to  spontaneous  liberality 
was  exceptional  under  the  law.  It  is  normal  under 
the  Gospel,  and  has  filled  the  whole  field,  and  driven 
out  the  other  principle  of  statutory  and  constrained 
service  and  sacrifice  altogether.  We  have  its  feeble 
beginnings  in  this  incident.  It  is  sovereign  in  Christ's 
Church.  There  are  no  pressed  men  on  board  Christ's 
ship.  None  but  volunteers  make  up  His  army.  *  Thy 
people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  Thy  might.'  He 
cares  nothing  for  any  service  but  such  as  it  would  be 
pain  to  keep  back;  nothing  for  any  service  which  is 
not  given  with  a  smile  of  glad  thankfulness  that  we  are 
able  to  give  it. 

And  for  the  true  acceptableness  of  Christian  service, 
that  motive  of  thankful  love  must  be  actually  present 
in  each  deed.  It  is  not  enough  that  we  should  deter- 
mine on  and  begin  a  course  of  sacrifice  or  work  under 
the  influence  of  that  great  motive,  unless  we  renew  it 
at  each  step.  We  cannot  hallow  a  row  of  actions  in 
that  wholesale  fashion  by  baptizing  the  first  of  them 
with  the  cleansing  waters  of  true  consecration,  while 
the  rest  are  done  from  lower  motives.  Each  deed  must 
be  sanctified  by  the  presence  of  the  true  motive,  if  it  is 
to  be  worthy  of  Christ's  acceptance.  But  there  is  a  con- 
stant tendency  in  all  Christian  work  to  slide  off  its  only 


216  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxv. 

right  foundation,  and,  having  been  begun  '  in  the  spirit,' 
to  be  carried  on  'in  the  flesh.'  Constant  watchfulness 
is  needed  to  resist  this  tendency,  which,  if  yielded  to, 
destroys  the  worth  and  power,  and  changes  the 
inmost  nature,  of  apparently  devoted  and  earnest 
service. 

Not  the  least  subtle  and  dangerous  of  these  spurious 
motives  which  steal  in  surreptitiously  to  mar  our  work 
for  Christ  is  habit.  Service  done  from  custom,  and 
representing  no  present  impulse  of  thankful  devotion, 
may  pass  muster  with  us,  but  does  it  do  so  with  God  ? 
No  doubt  a  habit  of  godly  service  is,  in  some  aspects,  a 
good,  and  it  is  well  to  enlist  that  tremendous  power  of 
custom  which  sways  so  much  of  our  lives,  on  the  side 
of  godliness.  But  it  is  not  good,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
pure  loss,  when  habit  becomes  mechanical,  and,  instead 
of  making  it  easier  to  call  up  the  true  motive,  excludes 
that  motive,  and  makes  it  easy  to  do  the  deed  without 
it.  I  am  afraid  that  if  such  thoughts  were  applied  as 
a  sieve  to  sift  the  abundant  so-called  Christian  work  of 
the  present  day,  there  would  be  an  alarming  and,  to 
the  workers,  astonishing  quantity  of  refuse  that  would 
not  pass  the  meshes. 

Let  us,  then,  try  to  bring  every  act  of  service  nomin- 
ally done  for  Christ  into  conscious  relation  with  the 
motive  which  ought  to  be  its  parent ;  for  only  the  work 
that  is  done  because  our  spirits  lift  us  up,  and  our 
hearts  are  willing,  is  work  that  is  accepted  by  Him, 
and  is  blessed  to  us. 

And  how  is  that  to  be  secured?  How  is  that  gjlad 
temper  of  spontaneous  and  cheerful  consecration  to  be 
attained  and  maintained  ?  I  know  of  but  one  way, 
*  Brethren,'  said  the  Apostle,  when  he  was  talking 
about '  a  very  little  matter — some  small  collection  for  a 


V.  21]    AN  OLD  SUBSGRiPTION  LIST      217 

handful  of  poor  people — *  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  how  that,  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our 
sakes  He  became  poor,  that  we,  through  His  povertyi 
might  become  rich.'  Let  us  keep  our  eyes  fixed 
upon  that  great  pattern  of  and  motive  for  surrender ; 
and  our  hearts  will  become  willing,  touched  with  the 
fire  that  flamed  in  His.  There  is  only  one  method  of 
securing  the  gladness  and  spontaneousness  of  devotion 
and  of  service,  and  that  is,  living  very  near  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  drinking  in  for  ourselves,  as  the  very  wine 
that  turns  to  blood  and  life  in  our  veins,  the  spirit  of 
that  dear  Master.  Every  one  whose  heart  is  lifted  up 
will  have  it  lifted  up  because  it  holds  on  by  Him  who 
hath  ascended  up,  and  who,  being  *  lifted  up,  draws  all 
men  to  Him.'  The  secret  of  consecration  is  communion 
with  Jesus  Christ. 

The  appeal  to  lower  motives  is  often  tempting,  but 
always  a  mistake.  Continual  contact  with  Jesus 
Christ,  and  realisation  of  what  He  has  done  for  us,  are 
sure  to  open  the  deep  fountains  of  the  heart,  and  to 
secure  abundant  streams.  If  we  can  tap  these  perennial 
reservoirs  they  will  yield  like  artesian  wells,  and  need 
no  creaking  machinery  to  pump  a  scanty  and  inter- 
mittent supply.  We  cannot  trust  this  deepest  motive 
too  much,  nor  appeal  to  it  too  exclusively. 

Let  me  remind  you,  too,  that  Christ's  appeal  to  this 
motive  leaves  no  loophole  for  selfishness  or  laziness. 
Responsibility  is  all  the  greater  because  we  are  left  to 
assess  ourselves.  The  blank  form  is  sent  to  us,  and  He 
leaves  it  to  our  honour  to  fill  it  up.  Do  not  tamper  with 
the  paper,  for  remember  there  is  a  Returning  Officer 
that  will  examine  your  schedule,  who  knows  all  about 
your  possessions.  So,  when  He  says,  *  Give  as  you  like; 
and  X  do  not  want  (anything  that  you  do  not  like,' 


218  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxv. 

remember  that '  Give  as  you  like '  ought  to  mean,  *  Give 
as  you,  who  have  received  everything  from  Me,  are 
bound  to  give.' 
II.  We  get  here  the  measure  of  acceptable  work. 
We  have  a  long  catalogue,  very  interesting  in  many 
respects,  of  the  various  gifts  that  the  people  brought. 
Such  sentences  as  these  occur  over  and  over  again — 
'  And  every  man  wit  li  whom  was  found '  so-and-so 
*  brought  it ' ;  *  And  all  the  women  did  spin  with  their 
hands,  and  brought  that  which  they  had  spun ' ; 
'And  the  rulers  brought '  so-and-so.  Such  statements 
embody  the  very  plain  truism  that  what  we  have 
settles  what  we  are  bound  to  give.  Or,  to  put  it  into 
grander  words,  capacity  is  the  measure  of  duty.  Our 
work  is  cut  out  for  us  by  the  faculties  and  oppor- 
tunities that  God  has  given  us. 

That  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  say,  but  it  is  an  un- 
commonly hard  thing  honestly  to  apply.  For  there 
are  plenty  of  people  that  are  smitten  with  very 
unusual  humility  whenever  you  begin  to  talk  to  them 
about  work.  '  It  is  not  in  my  way,'  '  I  am  not  capable 
of  that  kind  of  service,'  and  so  on,  and  so  on.  One 
would  believe  in  the  genuineness  of  the  excuse  more 
readily  if  there  were  anything  about  which  such 
people  said,  '  Well,  I  can  do  that,  at  all  events ' ;  but 
such  an  all-round  modesty,  which  is  mostly  observable 
when  service  is  called  for,  is  suspicious.  It  might  be 
well  for  some  of  these  retiring  and  idle  Christians  to 
remember  the  homely  wisdom  of  *  You  never  know 
what  you  can  do  till  you  try.'  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  many  Christians  who,  for  want  of  honest 
looking  into  their  own  power,  for  want  of  what  I  call 
sanctified  originality,  are  content  to  run  in  the  rutsf 
that  other  people's  vehicles  have  made,  without  asking 


V.  21]    AN  OLD  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST      219 

themselves  whether  that  is  the  gauge  that  their  wheels 
are  fit  for.  Both  these  sets  of  people  flagrantly  neglect 
the  plain  law  that  what  we  have  settles  what  we 
should  give. 

The  form  as  well  as  the  measure  of  our  service  is 
determined  thereby.  *  She  hath  done  what  she  could,' 
said  Jesus  Christ  about  Mary.  We  often  read  that,  as 
if  it  were  a  kind  of  apology  for  a  sentimental  and  use- 
less gift,  because  it  was  the  best  that  she  could  bestow. 
I  do  not  hear  that  tone  in  the  words  at  all.  I  hear, 
rather,  this,  that  duty  is  settled  by  faculty,  and  that 
nobody  else  has  any  business  to  interfere  with  that 
which  a  Christian  soul,  all  aflame  with  the  love  of  God, 
finds  to  be  the  spontaneous  and  natural  expression  of 
its  devotion  to  the  Master.  The  words  are  the  vindica- 
tion of  the  form  of  loving  service ;  but  let  us  not  forget 
that  they  are  also  a  very  stringent  requirement  as  to 
its  measure,  if  it  is  to  please  Christ.  *  What  she  could ' ; 
the  engine  must  be  worked  up  to  the  last  ounce  of 
pressure  that  it  will  stand.  All  must  be  got  out  of  it 
that  can  be  got  out  of  it.  Is  that  the  case  about  us  ? 
We  talk  about  hard  work  for  Christ.  Have  any  of  us 
ever  worked  up  to  the  edge  of  our  capacity?  I  am 
afraid  that  if  the  principles  that  lie  in  this  catalogue 
were  applied  to  us,  whether  about  our  gold  and  silver, 
or  about  our  more  precious  spiritual  and  mental  pos- 
sessions, we  could  not  say,  '  Every  man  with  whom  was 
found'  this,  that,  and  the  other,  'brought  it  for  the 
work.* 

III.  Notice,  again,  how  in  this  list  of  offerings  there 
comes  out  the  great  thought  of  the  infinite  variety  of 
forms  of  service  and  offering,  which  are  all  equally 
needful  and  equally  acceptable. 

The  list  begins   with  'bracelets,  and  earrings,  and 


220  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxv. 

rings,  and  tablets,  all  jewels  of  gold.'  And  then  it  goes 
on  to  '  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  linen,  and 
red  skins  of  rams,  and  badgers'  skins,  and  sLittim 
wood.'  And  then  we  read  that  the  *  women  did  spin  * 
with  their  hands,  and  brought  that  which  they  had 
spun — namely,  the  same  things  as  have  been  already 
catalogued,  '  the  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine 
linen.'  That  looks  as  if  the  richer  gave  the  raw 
material,  and  the  women  gave  the  labour.  Poor 
women!  they  could  not  give,  but  they  could  spin.  They 
had  no  stores,  but  they  had  ten  fingers  and  a  distaff, 
and  if  some  neighbour  found  the  stuff,  the  ten  fingers 
joyfully  set  the  distaff  twirling,  and  spun  the  yarn  for 
the  weavers.  Then  there  were  others  who  willingly 
undertook  the  rougher  work  of  spinning,  not  dainty 
thread  for  the  rich  soft  stuffs  whose  colours  were  to 
glow  in  the  sanctuary,  but  the  coarse  black  goat's  hair 
which  was  to  be  made  into  the  heavy  covering  of  the 
roof  of  the  tabernacle.  No  doubt  it  was  less  pleasant 
labour  than  the  other,  but  it  got  done  by  willing  hands. 
And  then,  at  the  end  of  the  whole  enumeration, 
there  comes,  '  And  the  rulers  brought  precious  stones, 
and  spices,  and  oil,'  and  all  the  expensive  things  that 
were  needed.  The  large  subscriptions  are  at  the  bottom 
of  the  list,  and  the  smaller  ones  are  in  the  place  of 
honour.  AH  this  just  teaches  us  this — what  a  host  of 
things  of  all  degrees  of  preciousness  in  men's  eyes  go  to 
make  God's  great  building  ! 

So  various  were  the  requirements  of  the  work  on 
hand.  Each  man's  gift  was  needed,  and  each  in  its 
place  was  equally  necessary.  The  jewels  on  the  high- 
priest's  breastplate  were  no  more  nor  less  essential  than 
the  wood  that  made  some  peg  for  a  curtain,  or  than 
the  cheaj>  goat's-hair  yarn  that  was  woven  into  the 


V.21]    AN  OLD  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST       221 

coarse  cloth  flung  over  the  roof  of  the  Tabernacle  to 
keep  the  wet  out.  All  had  equal  consecration,  because 
all  made  one  whole.  All  was  equally  precious,  if  all  was 
given  with  the  same  spirit.  So  there  is  room  for  all 
sorts  of  work  in  Christ's  great  house,  where  there  are 
not  only  '  vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver,  but  also  of  wood 
and  of  earth,'  and  all  '  unto  honour  .  .  .  meet  for  the 
Master's  use.'  The  smallest  deed  that  co-operates  to  a 
great  end  is  great.  'The  more  feeble  are  necessary.* 
Every  one  may  find  a  corner  where  his  special  possession 
will  work  into  the  general  design.  If  I  have  no  jewels 
to  give,  I  can  perhaps  find  some  shittim  wood,  or,  if  I 
cannot  manage  even  that,  I  can  at  least  spin  some  other 
person's  yarn,  even  though  I  have  only  a  distaff,  and  not 
a  loom  to  weave  it  in.  Many  of  us  can  do  work  only 
when  associated  with  others,  and  can  render  best 
service  by  helping  some  more  highly  endowed.  But  all 
are  needed,  and  welcomed,  and  honoured,  and  rewarded. 
The  owner  of  all  the  slaves  sets  one  to  be  a  water- 
carrier,  and  another  to  be  his  steward.  It  is  of  little 
consequence  whether  the  servant  be  Paul  or  Timothy, 
the  Apostle  or  the  Apostle's  helper.  '  He  worketh  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  as  I  also  do,'  said  the  former  about 
the  latter.  All  who  are  associated  in  the  same  service 
are  on  one  level. 

I  remember  once  being  in  the  treasury  of  a  royal 
palace.  There  was  a  long  gallery  in  which  the  Crown 
valual:?les  were  stored.  In  one  compartment  there  was 
a  great  display  of  emeralds,  and  diamonds,  and  rubies, 
and  I  know  not  what,  that  had  been  looted  from  some 
Indian  rajah  or  other.  And  in  the  next  case  there  lay 
a  common  quill  pen,  and  beside  it  a  little  bit  of  dis- 
coloured coarse  serge.  The  pen  had  signed  some 
importi>ant  treaty,  and  the  serge  was  a  fragment  of  a 


'in  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS  [ch.xxxv. 

flag  that  had  been  borne  triumphant  from  a  field 
where  a  nation's  destinies  had  been  sealed.  The  two 
together  were  worth  a  farthing  at  the  outside,  but 
they  held  their  own  among  the  jewels,  because  they 
spoke  of  brain-work  and  bloodshed  in  the  service 
of  the  king.  Many  strangely  conjoined  things  lie  side 
by  side  in  God's  jewel-cases.  Things  which  people 
vulgarly  call  large  and  valuable,  and  what  people  still 
more  vulgarly  call  small  and  worthless,  have  a  way  of 
getting  together  there.  For  in  that  place  the  arrange- 
ment is  not  according  to  what  the  thing  would  fetch  if 
it  were  sold,  but  what  was  the  thought  in  the  mind 
and  the  emotion  in  the  heart  which  gave  it.  Jewels  and 
camel's  hair  yarn  and  gold  and  silver  are  all  massed 
together.  Wood  is  wanted  for  the  Temple  quite  as 
much  as  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones. 

So,  whatever  we  have,  let  us  bring  that ;  and  what- 
ever we  are,  let  us  bring  that.  If  we  be  poor  aid|  our 
work  small,  and  our  natures  limited,  and  our  fa'3ultie^. 
confined,  it  does  not  matter.  A  man  is  ac3epted|i 
'  according  to  that  he  hath,  and  not  according  to  thajfc 
he  hath  not.'  God  does  not  ask  how  much  w«  hav^? 
given  or  done,  if  we  have  given  or  done  what  we  couldj. 
But  He  does  ask  how  much  we  have  kept  back,  and 
takes  strict  account  of  the  unsurrendered  possessionsi 
the  unimproved  opportunities,  the  unused  powers.  He 
gives  much  who  gives  all,  though  his  all  be  little ;  h© 
gives  little  who  gives  a  part,  though  the  part  be  much. 
The  motive  sanctifies  the  act,  and  the  completeness  of 
the  consecration  magnifies  it.  '  Great '  and  '  small '  are 
not  words  for  God's  Kingdom,  in  which  the  standard  is 
not  quantity  but  quality,  and  quality  is  settled  by  the 
purity  of  the  love  which  prompts  the  deed,  and  the 
consequent  thoroughness  of    self-surrender  which   it 


y.21]       THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS         223 

expresses.  Whoever  serves  God  with  a  whole  heart 
will  render  to  Him  a  whole  strength,  and  will  thus 
bring  Him  the  gifts  which  He  most  desires. 


THE  COPIES  OF  THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS 

'And  the  Lord  spake  nnto  Moses,  saying,  2.  On  the  first  day  of  the  first  month 
ahalt  thou  set  up  the  tabernacle  of.  the  tent  of  the  congregation.  3.  And  thou 
Shalt  put  therein  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  and  cover  the  ark  with  the  vail. 
i.  And  thou  shalt  bring  in  the  table,  and  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  to  be  set 
in  order  upon  it ;  and  thou  shalt  bring  in  the  candlestick,  and  light  the  lamps 
thereof.  5.  And  thou  shalt  set  the  altar  of  gold  for  the  incense  before  the  ark 
of  the  testimony,  and  put  the  hanging  of  the  door  to  the  tabernacle.  6.  And  thou 
shalt  set  the  altar  of  the  burnt  offering  before  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
tent  of  the  congregation.  7.  And  thou  shalt  set  the  laver  between  the  tent  of  the 
congregation  and  the  altar,  and  shalt  put  water  therein.  8.  And  thou  shalt  set  np 
the  court  round  about,  and  hang  up  the  hanging  at  the  court  gate.  9.  And  thou 
shalt  take  the  anointing  oil,  and  anoint  the  tabernacle,  and  all  that  is  therein,  and 
shalt  hallow  it,  and  all  the  vessels  thereof :  and  it  shall  be  holy.  10.  And  thou 
shalt  anoint  the  altar  of  the  burnt  o£fering,  and  all  his  vessels,  imd  sanctify  the 
altar :  and  it  shall  be  an  altar  most  holy.  11.  And  thou  shalt  anoint  the  laver 
and  his  foot,  and  sanctify  it.  12.  And  thou  shalt  bring  Aaron  and  his  sons  unto 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  wash  them  with  water.  13.  And 
thou  shalt  put  upon  Aaron  the  holy  garments,  and  anoint  him,  and  sanctify  him  ; 
that  he  may  minister  nnto  me  in  the  priest's  ofilce.  li.  And  thou  shall  bring  his 
sons,  and  clothe  them  with  coats :  15.  And  thou  shalt  anoint  them,  as  thou  didst 
anoint  their  father,  that  they  may  minister  nnto  me  in  the  priest's  oflBce ;  foi'  their 
anointing  shall  surely  be  an  everlasting  priesthood  throughout  their  generations. 
16.  Thus  did  Moses :  according  to  all  that  the  Lord  commanded  him,  so  did  he.'— 
EZODUB  xL  1-16. 

The  Exodus  began  on  the  night  after  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  first  month.  The  Tabernacle  was  set  up  on 
the  first  day  of  the  first  month  ;  that  is,  one  year,  less 
a  fortnight,  after  the  Exodus.  Exodus  xix.  1  shows 
that  the  march  to  Sinai  took  nearly  three  months ; 
and  if  to  this  we  add  the  eighty  days  of  Moses'  seclu- 
sion on  the  mountain,  we  get  about  six  months  as 
occupied  in  preparing  the  materials  for  the  Tabernacle 
'Setting  it  up'  was  a  short  process,  done  in  a  day. 
The  time  specified  was  ample  to  get  ready  a  wooden 
framework  of  small  dimensions,  with  some  curtains 


224  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xl. 

and  coverings  of  woven  stuffs.  What  a  glad  stir 
there  would  be  in  the  camp  on  that  New  Year's  day, 
when  the  visible  token  of  God's  dwelling  in  its  midst 
first  stood  there  I  Our  present  purpose  is  simply  to  try 
to  bring  out  the  meaning  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its 
furniture.  It  was  both  a  symbol  and  a  type ;  that  is, 
it  expressed  in  material  form  certain  great  religious 
needs  and  truths  ;  and,  just  because  it  did  so,  it  pointed 
onwards  to  the  full  expression  and  satisfaction  of 
these  in  Christ  Jesus  and  His  gifts.  In  other  words, 
it  was  a  parable  of  the  requisites  for,  and  the  blessings 
of,  communion  with  God. 

Note,  then,  first,  the  general  lesson  of  the  Tabernacle 
as  a  whole.  Its  name  declares  its  meaning,  •  the  tent 
of  meeting '  (Rev.  Ver.).  It  was  the  meeting-place  of 
God  with  man,  as  the  name  is  explained  in  Exodus 
xxix.  42, '  where  I  will  meet  with  you,  to  speak  there 
unto  thee.'  It  is  also  named  simply  '  the  dwelling ' ; 
that  is,  of  God.  It  was  pitched  in  the  midst  of  the 
camp,  like  the  tent  of  the  king  with  his  subjects 
clustered  round  him.  Other  nations  had  temples,  like 
the  solemn  structures  of  Egypt ;  but  this  slight, 
movable  sanctuary  was  a  new  thing,  and  spoke  of  the 
continual  presence  of  Israel's  God,  and  of  His  loving 
condescension  in  sharing  their  wandering  lives,  and, 
like  them,  dwelling  '  within  curtains.'  It  was  a  visible 
representation  of  a  spiritual  fact  for  the  then  present ; 
it  was  a  parable  of  the  inmost  reality  of  communion 
between  man  and  God ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  a  pro- 
phecy both  of  the  full  realisation  of  His  presence 
among  men,  in  the  temple  of  Christ's  body,  and  of  the 
yet  future  communion  of  Heaven,  which  is  set  before 
us  by  the  *  great  voice  .  .  .  saying.  Behold,  the  taber- 
nacle of  God  is  with  men.' 


vs.  1-16]   THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS         225 

The  threefold  division  into  court  of  the  worshippers, 
holy  place  for  the  priests,  and  holiest  of  all,  was  not 
peculiar  to  the  Tabernacle.  It  signifies  the  separation 
which,  after  all  nearness,  must  still  exist.  God  is  un- 
revealed  after  all  revelation ;  afar  off,  however  near ; 
shrouded  in  the  utter  darkness  of  the  inmost  shrine, 
and  only  approached  by  the  priestly  intercessor  with 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice.  Like  all  the  other  arrange- 
ments of  the  Sanctuary,  the  division  of  its  parts 
declares  a  permanent  truth,  which  has  impressed  itself 
on  the  worship  of  all  nations;  and  it  reveals  God's 
way  of  meeting  the  need  by  outward  rites  for  the  then 
present,  and  by  the  mediation  of  the  great  High-Priest 
in  the  time  to  come,  whose  death  rent  the  veil,  and 
whose  life  will,  one  day,  make  the  holiest  place  in  the 
heavens  patent  to  our  feet. 

The  enumeration  of  the  furniture  of  the  Tabernacle 
starts  from  the  innermost  shrine,  and  goes  outward. 
It  was  fit  that  it  should  begin  with  God's  special  abode. 
The  'holy  of  holies'  was  a  tiny  chamber,  closed  in 
from  light,  the  form,  dimensions,  materials,  and  furni- 
ture of  which  were  all  significant.  It  measured  ten 
cubits,  or  fifteen  feet,  every  way,  thereby  expressing, 
in  its  cubical  form  and  in  the  predominance  of  the 
number  ten,  stability  and  completeness.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  same  cubical  form  is  given  to 
the  heavenly  city,  in  the  Apocalypse,  for  the  same 
reason.  There,  in  the  thick  darkness,  unseen  by  mortals 
except  for  the  one  approach  of  the  high-priest  on  the 
day  of  atonement,  dwelt  the  '  glory '  which  made  light 
in  the  darkness,  and  flashed  on  the  gold  which  covered 
all  things  in  the  small  shrine. 

Our  lesson  does  not  speak  of  cherubim  or  mercy-seat, 
but  specifies  only  the  ark  of  the  testimony.    This  was 


226  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xl. 

a  small  chest  of  acacia  wood,  overlaid  with  gold,  and 
containing  the  two  tables  of  the  law,  which  were  called 
the  testimony,  as  bearing  witness  to  Israel  of  God's 
will  concerning  their  duty,  and  as  therein  bearing  wit- 
ness, too,  of  what  He  is.    Nor  must  the  other  part  of 
the  witness-bearing  of  the  law  be  left  out  of  view, — 
that  it  testifies  against  the    transgressors    of    itself. 
The  ark  was  the  centre-point  of  the  divine  revelation, 
the  very  throne  of  God ;  and  it  is  profoundly  significant 
that  its  sole  contents  should  be  the  tables  of  stone. 
Egyptian  arks  contained  symbols    of  their  gods,   de- 
grading, bestial,  and  often  impure  ;  but  the  true  revela- 
tion was  a  revelation,  to  the  moral  sense,  of  a  Being 
who  loves  righteousness.     Other  faiths  had  their  mys- 
teries, whispered  in  the  inmost  shrine,  which  shunned 
the  light  of  the  outer  courts ;  but  here  the  revelation 
within  the  veil  was  the  same  as  that  spoken  on  the 
house-tops.     Our  lesson  does  not  refer  to  the  'mercy 
seat,'  which   covered  the    ark  above,   and   spoke  the 
need  for,  and  the  provision  of,  a  means  whereby  the 
witness  of  the  law  against  the  worshipper's  sins  should 
be,  as  it  were,  hid  from  the   face  of  the   enthroned 
God.     The  veil  which  is  referred  to  in  verse  3  was 
that  which  hung  between  the  holy  of  holies  and  the 
holy  place.     It  did  not  '  cover  the  ark,'  as  the  Author- 
ised Version  unfortunately  renders,  but  *  screened '  it, 
as  the  Revised  Version  correctly  gives  it.    It  blazed 
with  colour  and  embroidered  figures  of  cherubim.    No 
doubt,  the  colours  were  symbolical;  but  it  is  fancy, 
rather  than  interpretation,  which  seeks  meanings  be- 
yond splendour  in  the  blue  and  purple  and  crimson 
and  white  which  were  blended  in  its  gorgeous  folds. 
What  is  it  which  hangs,  in  ever-shifting  hues,  between 
man  and  God?    The  veil  of  creation,  embroidered  by 


vs.  1-16]   THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS         227 

His  own  hand  with  beauty  and  life,  which  are  sym- 
bolised in  the  cherubim,  the  types  of  the  animate 
creation.  The  two  divisions  of  the  Tabernacle,  thus 
separated  by  the  veil,  correspond  to  earth  and  heaven ; 
and  that  application  of  the  symbol  is  certainly  in- 
tended, though  not  exclusively. 

We  step,  then,  from  the  mystery  of  the  inner  shrine 
out  to  the  comparatively  inferior  sacredness  of  the 
*  holy  place,'  daily  trodden  by  the  priests.  Three  articles 
stand  in  it :  the  table  for  the  so-called  shew-bread,  the 
great  lampstand,  and  the  golden  altar  of  incense.  Of 
these,  the  altar  was  in  the  midst,  right  in  the  path  to 
the  holiest  place ;  and  on  the  right,  looking  to  the 
veil,  the  table  of  shew-bread ;  while  on  the  left  was 
the  lampstand.  These  three  pieces  of  furniture  were 
intimately  connected  with  each  other,  and  represented 
various  aspects  of  the  spiritual  character  of  true  wor- 
shippers. The  holy  place  was  eminently  the  people's, 
just  as  the  most  holy  place  was  eminently  God's. 
True,  only  the  priests  entered  it ;  but  they  did  so  on 
behalf  of  the  nation.  We  may  expect,  therefore,  to 
find  special  reference  to  the  human  side  of  worship  in 
its  equipments  ;  and  we  do  find  it.  Of  the  three 
articles,  the  altar  of  incense  was  in  idea,  as  in  locality, 
the  centre ;  and  we  consider  it  first,  though  it  stands  last 
in  our  list,  suggesting  that,  in  coming  from  the  most 
holy  place,  the  other  two  would  be  first  encountered. 
The  full  details  of  its  construction  and  use  are  found 
in  Exodus  xxx.  Twice  a  day  sweet  incense  was  burned 
on  it,  and  no  other  kind  of  sacrifice  was  permitted ; 
but  once  a  year  it  was  sprinkled,  by  the  high  priest, 
with  expiatory  blood.  The  meaning  is  obvious.  The 
symbolism  of  incense  as  representing  prayer  is 
frequent  in  Scripture,  and  most  natural.     What  could 


228  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.xl. 

more  beautifully  express  the  upward  aspirations  of  the 
soul,  or  the  delight  of  God  in  these,  than  the  incense 
sending  up  its  wreaths  of  fragrant  smoke  ?  Incense 
gives  no  fragrance  nor  smoke  till  it  is  kindled ;  and 
the  censer  has  to  be  constantly  swung  to  keep  up  the 
glow,  without  which  there  will  be  no  '  odour  of  a  sweet 
smell.'  So  cold  prayers  are  no  prayers,  but  are  scent- 
less, and  unapt  to  rise.  The  heart  must  be  as  a  coal 
of  fire,  if  the  prayer  is  to  come  up  before  God  with 
acceptance.  Twice  a  day  the  incense  was  kindled  ;  and 
all  day  long,  no  doubt,  it  smouldered,  *  a  perpetual 
incense  before  the  Lord.'  So,  in  the  life  of  true  com- 
munion, there  should  be  daily  seasons  of  special  devo- 
tion, and  a  continual  glow.  The  position  of  the  altar 
of  incense  was  right  in  the  line  between  the  altar  of 
burnt  offering,  in  the  outer  court,  and  the  entrance 
to  the  holiest  place;  by  which  we  are  taught  that 
acceptable  prayer  follows  on  reconciliation  by  sacrifice, 
and  leads  into  '  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High.'  The 
yearly  atonement  for  the  altar  taught  that  evil  imper- 
fection cleaves  to  all  our  devotion,  which  needs  and 
receives  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  the  great 
sacrifice. 

The  great  seven-branched  candlestick,  or  lampstand, 
stood  on  the  right  of  the  altar,  as  the  priest  looked  to 
the  most  holy  place.  Its  meaning  is  plain.  It  is  an 
emblem  of  the  Church  as  recipient  and  communicative 
of  light,  in  all  the  applications  of  that  metaphor,  to  a 
dark  world.  As  the  sacred  lamps  streamed  out  their 
hospitable  rays  into  the  desert  all  the  night,  so  God's 
servants  are  lights  in  the  world.  The  lamps  burned 
with  derived  light,  which  had  to  be  fed  as  well  as 
kindled.  So  we  are  lighted  by  the  touch  of  the  great 
Aaron,  and  His  gentle  hand  tends  the  smoking  wick, 


vs.  1-16]   THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS         229 

and  nourishes  it  to  a  flame.  We  need  the  oil  of  the 
Spirit  to  sustain  the  light.  The  lamp  was  a  clustered 
light,  representing  in  its  metal  oneness  the  formal  and 
external  unity  of  Israel,  The  New  Testament  unity  is 
of  a  better  kind.  The  seven  candlesticks  are  made  one 
because  He  walks  in  the  midst,  not  because  they  are 
welded  on  to  one  stem. 

Consistency  of  symbolism  requires  that  the  table  of 
shew- bread  should,  like  the  altar  and  the  candlestick, 
express  some  phase  of  true  .worship.  Its  interpretation 
is  less  obvious  than  that  of  the  other  two.  The  name 
means  literally  '  bread  of  the  face ' ;  that  is,  bread 
presented  to,  and  ever  lying  before,  God.  There  are 
two  explanations  of  the  meaning.  One  sees  in  the 
offering  only  a  devout  recognition  of  God  as  the 
author  of  material  blessing,  and  a  rendering  to  Him  of 
His  gifts  of  outward  nourishment.  In  this  case,  the 
shew-bread  would  be  anomalous,  a  literality  thrust 
into  the  midst  of  symbolism.  The  other  explanation 
keeps  up  the  congruity,  by  taking  the  material  bread, 
which  is  the  result  of  God's  blessing  on  man's  toil,  as 
a  symbol  of  the  spiritual  results  of  God's  blessing  on 
man's  spiritual  toil,  or,  in  other  words,  of  practical 
righteousness  or  good  works,  and  conceives  that  these 
are  offered  to  God,  by  a  strong  metaphor,  as  acceptable 
food.  It  is  a  bold  representation,  but  we  may  quote 
'  I  will  sup  with  him '  as  proof  that  it  is  not  inad- 
missible ;  and  it  is  not  more  bold  than  the  declaration 
that  our  obedience  is  *  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell.'  So 
the  three  pieces  of  furniture  in  the  holy  place  spoke 
of  the  true  Israel,  when  cleansed  by  sacrifice  and  in 
communion  with  God,  as  instant  in  prayer,  continually 
raying  out  the  light  derived  from  Him,  and  zealous  of 
good  works,  well-pleasing  to  God. 


230  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xl. 

"We  pass  outwards,  through  another  veil,  and  stand 
in  the  court,  which  was  always  open  to  the  people. 
There,  before  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle,  was  the  altar  of 
burnt  offering.  The  order  of  our  chapter  brings  us  to  it 
last,  but  the  order  of  worship  brought  the  worshipper 
to  it  first.  Its  distinctive  character  was  that  on  it 
the  blood  of  the  slain  sacrifices  was  offered.  It  was 
the  place  where  sinful  men  could  begin  to  meet  with 
God,  the  foundation  of  all  the  communion  of  the  inner 
sanctuary.  We  need  not  discuss  mere  details  of  form 
and  the  like.  The  great  lesson  taught  by  the  altar  and 
its  place,  is  that  reconciliation  is  needed,  and  is  only 
possible  by  sacrifice.  As  a  symbol  it  taught  every 
Israelite  what  his  own  conscience,  once  awakened, 
endorsed,  that  sin  must  be  expiated  before  the  sinner 
and  God  can  walk  in  concord.  As  prophecy,  it  assured 
those  whose  hearts  were  touched  with  longing,  that 
God  would  Himself  'provide  the  lamb  for  the  burnt 
offering,'  in  some  way  as  yet  unknown.  For  us  it  is 
an  intended  prefiguration  of  the  great  work  of  Jesus 
Christ.  *We  have  an  altar.'  We  need  that  altar  at 
the  beginning  of  our  fellowship  with  God,  as  much  as 
Israel  did.  A  Christianity  which  does  not  start  from 
the  altar  of  burnt  offering  will  never  get  far  into  the 
holy  place,  nor  ever  reach  that  innermost  shrine  where 
the  soul  lives  and  adores,  silent  before  the  manifest 
God  between  the  cherubim. 

The  laver,  or  basin,  was  intended  for  the  priests'  use, 
in  washing  hands  and  feet  before  ministering  at  the 
altar  or  entering  the  tabernacle.  It  teaches  the  neces- 
sity for  purity,  in  order  to  priestly  service. 

Thus  these  three  divisions  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its 
court  set  forth  the  stages  in  the  approach  of  the  soul 
to  God,  beginning  with  the  reconciling  sacrifice  an4 


vs.  1-16]    THINGS  IN  THE  HEAVENS        231 

cleansing  water,  advancing  to  closer  communion  by- 
prayer,  impartation  of  light  received,  and  offering  of 
good  works  to  God,  and  so  entering  within  the  veil 
into  secret  sweetnesses  of  union  with  God,  which 
attains  its  completeness  only  when  we  pass  from 
the  holy  place  on  earth  to  the  most  holy  in  the 
heavens. 

The  remainder  of  the  text  can  only  be  glanced  at 
in  a  sentence  or  two.  It  consists  of  two  parts :  the 
consecration  of  the  Tabefnacle  and  its  vessels  by  the 
anointing  oil  which,  when  applied  to  inanimate  ob- 
jects, simply  devoted  them  to  sacred  uses,  and  the 
consecration  of  Aaron  and  his  sons.  A  fuller  account 
is  given  in  Leviticus  viii.,  from  which  we  learn  that  it 
was  postponed  to  a  later  period,  and  accompanied 
with  a  more  elaborate  ritual  than  that  prescribed 
here.  That  consists  of  three  parts :  washing,  as 
emblematic  of  communicated  purity ;  robing,  and 
anointing, — the  last  act  signifying,  when  applied  to 
men,  their  endowment  with  so  much  of  the  divine 
Spirit  as  fitted  them  for  their  theocratic  functions. 
These  three  things  made  the  *  sanctifying,'  or  setting 
apart  for  God's  service,  of  Aaron  and  his  sons.  He  is 
consecrated  alone,  in  order  that  his  primacy  may  be 
clearly  indicated.  He  is  consecrated  by  Moses  as  the 
higher ;  then  the  sons  are  consecrated  with  the  same 
ceremonial,  to  indicate  the  hereditary  priesthood,  and 
the  equality  of  Aaron's  successors  with  himself.  *  They 
truly  were  many  priests,  because  they  were  not 
suffered  to  continue  by  reason  of  death,'  and  provision 
for  their  brief  tenure  of  office  was  embodied  in  the 
consecration  of  the  sons  by  the  side  of  the  father. 
Their  priesthood  was  only  'everlasting'  by  continual 
succession  of  short-lived  holders  of  t\xe  office.    But  th© 


232  THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS       [ch.  xl. 

prediction  which  closes  the  text  has  had  a  fulfil- 
ment beyond  these  fleeting,  shadowy  priests,  in  Him 
whose  priesthood  is  '  everlasting  '  and  '  throughout  all 
generations,'  because  '  He  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession '  (Heb.  vii.  25). 


THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS 

THE  BURNT  OFFERING  A  PICTURE  AND 
A  PROPHECY 

•And  the  Lord  called  unto  Moses,  and  spake  nnto  him  out  of  the  tahernacle  of 
the  congregation,  saying,  2.  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  eay  unto  them. 
If  any  man  of  you  bring  an  offering  unto  the  Lord,  ye  shall  bring  your  offering  of 
the  cattle,  even  of  the  herd,  and  of  the  flock,  3.  If  his  offering  be  a  burnt-sacrifice 
of  the  herd,  let  him  offer  a  male  without  blemish:  he  shall  offer  it  of  his  own 
voluntary  will,  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  before  the  Lord. 
4.  And  he  shall  put  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  burni-offering ;  and  it  shall  be 
accepted  for  him,  to  make  atonement  for  him.  5.  And  he  shall  kill  the  bullock 
before  the  Lord ;  and  the  priests,  Aaron's  sons,  shall  bring  the  blood,  and  sprinkle 
the  blood  round  about  upon  the  altar  that  is  by  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation.  6.  And  he  shall  flay  the  burnt  offering,  and  cut  it  into  his  pieces. 
7.  And  the  sons  of  Aaron  the  priest  shall  put  fire  upon  the  altar,  and  lay  the  wood 
in  order  upon  the  fire :  8.  And  the  priests,  Aaron's  sons,  shall  lay  the  parts,  the 
head,  and  the  fat,  in  order  upon  the  wood  that  is  on  the  fire  which  is  upon  the 
altar :  9.  But  his  inwards  and  his  legs  shall  he  wash  in  water ;  and  the  priest  shall 
burn  all  on  the  altar,  to  be  a  burnt  sacrifice,  an  offering  made  by  fire,  of  a  sweet 
savour  unto  the  Lord.'— Lev.  i.  1-9. 

In  considering  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system,  it  is  im- 
portant to  distinguish  the  symbolical  from  the  typical 
value  of  the  sacrifices.  The  former  could  scarcely  be 
quite  unnoticed  by  the  offerers;  but  the  latter  was 
only  gradually  made  plain,  was  probably  never  very 
generally  seen,  and  is  a  great  deal  clearer  to  us,  in  the 
light  of  Christ,  the  Antitype,  than  it  could  ever  have 
been  before  His  coming.  As  symbols,  the  sacrifices 
expressed  great  eternal  truths  as  to  spiritual  worship 
and  communion,  its  hindrances,  requisites,  manner, 
and  blessings.  They  were  God's  picture-book  for  these 
children  in  religious  development.  As  types,  they 
shadowed  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ  and  its  results. 

The  value  of  the  sacrifices  in  either  aspect  is  indepen- 
dent of  modern  questions  as  to  their  Mosaic  origin; 

S88 


234  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS       [ch.i. 

for  at  whatever  period  the  Priest's  Code  was  promul- 
gated, it  equally  bears  witness  to  the  ruling  ideas  of 
the  offerings,  and,  in  any  case,  it  was  long  before 
Christ  came,  and  therefore  its  prophecy  of  Him  is  as 
supernatural,  whether  Moses  or  Ezra  were  its  author. 
I  make  this  remark,  not  as  implying  that  the  new 
theory  is  not  revolutionary,  but  simply  as  absolving 
a  student  of  the  religious  significance  of  the  sacrificial 
system  from  entering  here  on  questions  of  date. 

The  '  burnt  offering '  stands  first  in  Leviticus  for 
several  reasons.  It  was  derived  from  patriarchal  times ; 
it  was  offered  twice  daily,  besides  frequently  on  other 
occasions ;  and  in  its  significance  it  expressed  the  com- 
plete consecration  which  should  be  the  habitual  state  of 
the  true  worshipper.  Its  name  literally  means  'that 
which  ascends,'  and  refers,  no  doubt,  to  the  ascent  of 
the  transformed  substance  of  the  sacrifice  in  fire  and 
smoke,  as  to  God.  The  central  idea  of  this  sacrifice, 
then,  as  gathered  from  its  name  and  confirmed  by  its 
manner,  is  that  of  the  yielding  of  the  whole  being  in 
self-surrender,  and  borne  up  by  the  flame  of  intense 
consecration  to  God.  Very  beautiful  is  the  variety  of 
material  which  was  permitted.  The  poor  man's  pair 
of  pigeons  went  up  with  as  sweet  an  odour  as  the  rich 
man's  young  bull.  God  delights  in  the  consecration  to 
Him  of  ourselves  and  our  powers,  no  matter  whether 
they  be  great  or  small,  if  only  the  consecration  be 
thorough,  and  the  whole  being  be  wrapped  in  the 
transforming  blaze. 

It  is  worth  while  to  try  to  realise  the  strange  and 
to  our  eyes  repulsive  spectacle  of  the  burnt  offering, 
which  is  veiled  from  us  by  its  sacred  associations.  The 
worshipper  leads  up  his  animal  by  some  rude  halter, 
and  possibly  resisting,  to  the  front  of  the  Tabernacle, 


vs.  1-9]        THE  BURNT  OFFERING  235 

the  courts  of  which  he  dared  not  tread,  but  which  was 
to  him  the  dwelling-place  of  God.  There  by  the  altar 
he  stands,  and,  first  pressing  his  hand  with  force  on 
the  victim's  head,  he  then,  with  one  swift  cut,  kills  it, 
and  as  the  warm  blood  spouts  from  the  mangled  throat, 
the  attendant  priest  catches  it  in  a  basin,  and,  standing 
at  the  two  diagonally  opposite  corners  of  the  altar  in 
turn,  dashes,  with  one  dexterous  twist,  half  of  the 
contents  against  each,  so  as  to  wet  two  sides  of  the 
altar  with  one  throw,  ^nd  the  other  two  with  the 
other.  The  offerer  then  flays  the  reeking  carcase, 
tossing  the  gory  hide  to  the  priest  as  his  perquisite, 
and  cuts  up  the  sacrifice  according  to  a  fixed  method. 
His  part  of  the  work  is  done,  and  he  stands  by  with 
bloody  hands  while  the  priests  arrange  the  pieces  on 
the  pile  on  the  altar ;  and  soon  the  odour  of  burning 
flesh  and  the  thick  smoke  hanging  over  the  altar  tell 
that  the  rite  is  complete.  What  a  scene  it  must  have 
been  when,  as  on  some  great  occasions,  hundreds  of 
burnt  offerings  were  offered  in  succession !  The  place 
and  the  attendants  would  look  to  us  liker  shambles 
and  butchers  than  God's  house  and  worshippers. 

Now,  if  we  inquire  into  the  significance  of  the  offer- 
ing, it  turns  on  two  points — expiation  and  burning. 
The  former  it  has  in  common  with  other  bloody  sacri- 
fices, though  it  presents  features  of  its  own,  even  in 
regard  to  expiation.  But  the  latter  is  peculiar  to  it, 
and  must  therefore  be  taken  to  be  its  special  teaching. 
The  stages  in  the  whole  process  are  five :  the  presenta- 
tion, laying  on  of  hands,  slaughter,  sprinkling  of  blood, 
and  burning  of  the  whole  carcase.  The  first  three  are 
alike  in  this  and  other  sacrifices,  the  fourth  is  modified 
here,  and  the  last  is  found  here  only.  Each  has  its 
lesson.    The  offerer  has  himself  to  brin^  the  animal  tQ 


236  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS       [ch.i. 

the  door  of  the  Tabernacle,  that  he  may  show  his  willing 
surrender  of  a  valuable  thing.  As  he  stands  there  with 
his  off  ering,his  thoughts  would  pass  into  the  inner  shrine, 
where  God  dwelt ;  and  he  would,  if  he  were  a  true  wor 
shipper,  feel  that  while  God,  on  His  part,  already  dwelt 
in  the  midst  of  the  people,  he,  on  the  other  hand,  can  only 
enter  into  the  enjoyment  of  His  presence  by  sacrifice. 
The  offering  was  to  be  '  a  male  without  blemish ' ;  for 
bodily  defect  symbolising  moral  flaw  could  not  be  toler- 
ated in  the  offerings  to  a  holy  God,  who  requires  purity, 
and  will  not  be  put  off  with  less  than  a  man's  best,  be 
it  ox  or  pigeon.  '  The  torn  and  the  lame  and  the  sick,' 
which  Malachi  charged  his  generation  with  bringing, 
are  neither  worthy  of  God  to  receive  nor  of  us  to  offer. 
When  he  pressed  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the  sacri- 
fice, what  was  the  worshipper  meant  to  think?  In 
all  other  instances  where  hands  are  laid  on,  some 
transference  or  communication  of  gifts  or  qualities 
is  implied ;  and  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  same 
meaning  attaches  to  the  act  here,  with  such  modifi- 
cations as  the  case  requires.  We  find  that  it  was 
done  in  other  bloody  sacrifices,  accompanied  with  con- 
fession. Nothing  is  said  of  confession  here;  but  we 
cannot  dismiss  the  idea  that  the  offerer  laid  his  sins  on 
the  victim  by  that  striking  act,  especially  as  the  very 
next  clause  says  '  it  shall  be  accepted  for  him  to  make 
atonement  for  him.'  The  atonement  was  made,  as  we 
shall  see,  by  the  application  of  the  blood  to  the  altar ; 
but  the  possibility  of  the  victim's  blood  atoning  for 
the  offerer  depended  on  his  having  laid  his  hands  on 
its  head.  We  may  perhaps  go  farther  than  'trans- 
ference of  sins.'  Might  we  not  widen  the  expression, 
and  say  *  identification,'  or,  to  use  a  word  which  has 
become  so  worn  by  religious  controversy  that  it  slips 


vs.  1-9]        THE  BURNT  OFFERING  23*^ 

through  our  fingers  unnoticed,  '  substitution '  ?  Did 
not  the  offerer  say  in  effect,  by  that  act,  '  This  is  I  ? 
This  animal  life  shall  die,  as  I  ought  to  die.  It  shall  go 
up  as  a  sweet  savour  to  Jehovah,  as  my  being  should.' 

The  animal  invested  with  this  representative  char- 
acter is  next  to  be  slain  by  the  offerer,  not  by  the 
priest,  who  only  performed  that  part  of  the  ritual  in 
the  case  of  national  or  public  sacrifices.  That  was  dis- 
tinctly a  vicarious  death  ;  and,  as  inflicted  by  the  hand 
of  the  person  represented  by  the  animal,  he  thereby 
acknowledged  that  its  death  was  the  wages  of  his  sin, 
and  allowed  the  justice  of  his  condemnation,  while  he 
presented  this  innocent  life — innocent  because  not  that 
of  a  moral  being — as  his  substitute.  So  far  the  wor- 
shipper's part  goes.  But  now,  when  the  act  of  expiation 
is  to  be  symbolically  represented,  and,  so  far  as  outward 
sacrifice  could,  is  to  be  accomplished,  another  actor 
appears.  The  priest  comes  forward  as  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man,  and  applies  the  blood  to  the  altar. 
The  difference  between  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood,  in 
the  burnt  offerings  and  in  the  other  sacrifices,  which 
had  expiation  for  their  principal  object,  in  some  of 
which  it  was  smeared  on  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and, 
in  the  most  solemn  of  all,  was  carried  into  the  holiest 
place,  and  sprinkled  on  the  mercy-seat,  suggests  that  the 
essential  character  of  the  burnt  offering  was  not  ex- 
piatory, though  expiation  was  the  foundation  on  which 
alone  the  essential  character  could  be  reared.  The  appli- 
cation of  the  blood  was  the  formal  act  by  which  atone- 
ment was  made.  The  word  rendered  '  to  make  atone- 
ment'  means  '  to  cover ' ;  and  the  idea  conveyed  is  that 
the  blood,  which  is  the  life  of  the  sacrifice,  covers  the 
sins  of  the  offerer,  so  as  to  make  them  powerless  to 
dam  back  the  love  or  to  precipitate  the  wrath  of  God. 


288         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS       [ch.i. 

With  this  act  the  expiatory  portion  of  the  ritual 
ends,  and  we  may  here  pause  to  look  back  for  a 
moment  on  it  as  a  whole.  We  have  pointed  out  the 
double  bearings  of  the  Mosaic  ritual  as  symbolical  and 
as  typical  or  prophetic.  In  the  former  aspect,  the 
emphatic  teaching  of  this  rite  is  that  *  the  wages  of  sin 
is  death,'  that  *  without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no 
remission,'  that  God  has  appointed  sacrifice  as  the 
means  of  entering  into  fellowship  with  Him,  and  that 
substitution  and  vicarious  penalty  are  facts  in  His 
government.  We  may  like  or  dislike  these  thoughts ; 
we  may  call  them  gross,  barbarous,  immoral,  and  the 
like,  but,  at  all  events,  we  ought  not  to  deny  that  they 
are  ingrained  in  the  Mosaic  sacrificial  system,  which 
becomes  unmeaning  elaboration  of  empty  and  often 
repulsive  ceremonies,  if  they  are  not  recognised  as  its 
very  centre.  Of  course,  the  meaning  of  the  sacrifices 
was  hidden  from  many  a  worshipper.  They  became 
opaque  instead  of  transparent,  and  hid  the  great  truth 
which  they  were  meant  to  reveal.  All  forms  labour 
under  that  disadvantage  ;  but  that  they  were  signifi- 
cant in  design,  and  largely  so  to  devout  hearts  in 
effect,  admits  of  no  reasonable  doubt.  That  which  they 
signified  was  chiefly  the  putting  away  of  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  innocent  life,  which  stood  in  the  place  of 
the  guilty.  Of  course,  too,  their  benefit  was  symbolical, 
and  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  could  never  put  away 
sin ;  but,  under  the  shelter  of  the  outward  forms,  a 
more  spiritual  insight  gradually  grew  up,  such  as 
breathes  in  many  a  psalm,  and  such  as,  we  cannot 
doubt,  filled  the  heart  of  many  a  worshipper,  as  he 
stood  by  the  bleeding  sacrifice  on  which  his  own  hands 
had  laid  the  burden  that  had  weighed  so  heavy  on 
himself.    How  far  the  prophetic  aspect  of  the  sacrifices 


vs.  1-9]        THE  BURNT  OFFERING  239 

was  discerned,  is  a  more  difficult  question.  But  this  at 
least  we  know— that  the  highest  level  of  evangelical 
prophecy,  in  Isaiah's  wonderful  fifty-third  chapter,  is 
reached  from  this  vantage-ground.  It  is  the  flower  of 
which  these  ordinances  are  the  root.  We  need  not 
enlarge  upon  the  prophetic  aspect  of  the  sacrifice.  The 
mere  negative  sinlessness  of  the  victim  points  to  the 
'  Lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot,'  on  whom,  as 
Isaiah  says,  in  language  dyed  through  and  through 
with  sacrificial  references,  *  the  Lord  hath  made  to  meet 
the  iniquity  of  us  all,'  and  who  Himself  makes  'His 
soul  an  offering  for  sin.'  The  modern  tendency  to  bring 
down  the  sacrificial  system  to  a  late  date  surely  sins 
against  the  sacred  and  all-explaining  law  of  evolution, 
in  the  name  of  which  it  is  attempted,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
an  unheard-of  thing  for  the  earlier  stages  of  a  religion 
to  be  less  clogged  with  ceremonial  than  the  later. 
Psalmist  and  prophet  first,  and  priest  afterwards,  is 
not  the  order  of  development. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  ritual  was,  as  we  have 
pointed  out,  peculiar  to  the  burnt  offering.  In  it  alone 
the  whole  of  the  sacrifice  was  consumed  on  the  altar, 
with  the  exceptions  of  the  skin,  which  was  given  to  the 
priest,  and  of  the  contents  of  the  intestines.  Hence  it 
was  sometimes  called  *a  whole  burnt  offering.'  The 
meaning  of  this  provision  may  be  apprehended  if  we 
note  that  the  word  rendered  '  burn,'  in  verse  9,  is  not 
that  which  simply  implies  destruction  by  fire,  but  is  a 
peculiar  word,  reserved  for  sacrificial  burnings,  and 
meaning  *  to  cause  to  ascend  in  smoke  or  vapour.*  The 
gross  flesh  was,  as  it  were,  refined  into  vapour  and 
odour,  and  went  up  to  God  as  '  a  sweet  savour.'  It  ex- 
pressed, therefore,  the  transformation  of  the  sinful 
human  nature  of  the  worshipper,  by  the  refining  power 


240  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS      [ch.  x. 

of  the  fire  of  God,  into  something  more  ethereal  and 
kindred  with  the  heaven  to  which  it  rose.  Or,  to  put 
the  thought  in  plainer  words,  on  the  hasis  of  expiation, 
the  glad  surrender  of  the  whole  being  is  possible  and 
will  ensue;  and  when  a  man  yields  himself  in  joyful 
self-surrender  to  the  God  who  has  forgiven  his  sins, 
then  the  fire  of  the  divine  Spirit  is  shed  abroad  in  his 
heart,  and  kindles  a  flame  which  lays  hold  on  all  the 
gross,  earthly  elements  of  his  being,  and  changes  them 
into  fire,  kindred  with  itself,  which  aspires,  in  ruddy 
tongues  of  upward-leaping  light,  to  the  God  to  whom 
the  heart  has  been  surrendered,  and  to  whom  the 
whole  being  tends. 

This  is  the  purpose  of  expiation ;  this  is  the  summit 
of  all  religion.  One  man  has  realised  to  the  full,  in  his 
life,  what  the  burnt  offering  taught  as  the  goal  for  all 
worshippers.  Jesus  has  lived  in  the  constant  exercise 
of  perfect  self-surrender,  and  in  the  constant  un- 
measured possession  of  *the  Spirit  of  burning,'  with 
which  He  has  come  to  baptize  us  all.  If  we  look  to 
Him  as  our  expiation,  we  should  also  find  in  Him  the 
power  to  yield  ourselves  'living  sacrifices,'  and  draw 
from  Him  the  sacred  and  refining  fire,  which  shall 
transform  our  grossness  into  His  likeness,  and  make 
even  us  *  acceptable  to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ.* 


STRANGE  FIRE 

'And  Nadab  and  Abihn,  the  sons  of  Aaron,  took  either  of  them  his  censer,  and 
put  fire  therein,  and  put  incense  thereon,  and  offered  strange  fire  before  the  Lord, 
■which  He  commanded  them  not.  2.  And  there  went  out  fire  from  the  Lord,  and 
devoured  them,  and  they  died  before  the  Lord.  3.  Then  Moses  said  unto  Aaron, 
This  is  it  that  the  Lord  spake,  saying,  I  wUl  be  sanctified  in  them  that  come  nigh 
Me,  and  before  all  the  people  I  will  be  glorified.  And  Aaron  held  his  peace. 
i.  And  Moses  called  Mishael  and  Elzaphan,  the  sons  of  Uzziel  the  uncle  of  Aaron, 
and  said  unto  them,  Come  near,  carry  your  brethren  from  before  the  sanctuary 
out  of  the  camp.   5.  So  they  went  near,  and  carried  them  in  their  coats  out  of  the 


vs.  1-11]  STRANGE  FIRE  241 

camp ;  as  Moses  had  said.  6.  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  and  nnto  Eleazar  and 
unto  Ithamar,  his  sons.  Uncover  not  your  heads,  neither  rend  your  clothes ;  lest  ye 
die,  and  lest  wrath  come  upon  all  the  people :  but  let  your  brethren,  the  whole 
house  of  Israel,  bewail  the  burning  which  the  Lord  hath  kindled.  7.  And  ye  shall 
not  go  out  from  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  lest  ye  die :  for  the 
anointing  oil  of  the  Lord  is  upon  you.  And  they  did  according  to  the  word  of 
Moses.  8.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Aaron,  saying,  9.  Do  not  drink  wine  nor 
strong  drink,  thou,  nor  thy  sons  with  thee,  when  ye  go  into  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation,  lest  ye  die  :  it  shall  be  a  statute  for  ever  throughout  your  genera- 
tions ;  10.  And  that  ye  may  put  difference  between  holy  and  unholy,  and  between 
unclean  and  clean ;  11.  And  that  ye  may  teach  the  children  of  Israel  all  the  statutes 
which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  unto  them  by  the  hand  of  Moses.'— Lev.  x.  1-11. 

This  solemn  story  of  sin  and  punishment  is  connected 
with  the  preceding  chapter  by  a  simple  'and.'  Probably, 
therefore,  Nadab  and  Abihu  '  offered  strange  fire,'  im- 
mediately after  the  fire  from  Jehovah  had  consumed 
the  appointed  sacrifice.  Their  sin  was  aggravated  by 
the  time  of  its  being  committed.  But  a  week  had 
passed  since  the  consecration  of  their  father  and  them- 
selves as  priests.  The  first  sacrifices  had  just  been 
offered,  and  here,  in  the  very  blossoming  time,  came  a 
vile  canker.  If  such  licence  in  setting  aside  the  pre- 
scriptions of  the  newly  established  sacrificial  order 
asserted  itself  then,  to  what  lengths  might  it  not  run 
when  the  first  impression  of  sanctity  and  of  God's  com- 
mandment had  been  worn  by  time  and  custom  ?  The 
sin  was  further  aggravated  by  the  sinners  being  priests, 
who  were  doubly  obliged  to  punctilious  adherence  to 
the  instituted  ritual.  If  they  set  the  example  of  con- 
tempt, would  not  the  people  better  (or,  rather,  worsen) 
their  instruction  ? 

Unquestionably,  their  punishment  was  awfully 
severe.  But  we  shall  entirely  misconceive  their  sin 
if  we  judge  it  by  our  standards.  We  are  not  depen- 
dent on  forms  as  Israel  was,  but  the  spiritual  religion 
of  Christianity  was  only  made  possible  by  the  exter- 
nalism  of  the  older  system.  The  sweet  kernel  would 
not  have  softened  and  become  juicy  without  the  shelter 
of  the  hard  shell.     Scaffolding  is  needed  to  erect  a 

Q 


242  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS      [ch.x. 

building;  and  he  is  not  a  wise  man  who  either  despises 
or  would  keep  permanently  standing  the  scaffold  poles. 

We  draw  a  broad  distinction  between  positive  com- 
mandments and  moral  or  religious  obligations.  But  in 
the  Mosaic  legislation  that  distinction  does  not  exist. 
There,  all  precepts  are  God's  uttered  will,  and  all  dis- 
obedience is  rebellion  against  Him.  Nor  could  it  be 
otherwise  at  the  stage  of  development  which  Israel 
had  reached. 

What,  then,  was  the  crime  of  these  two  rash  sons  of 
Aaron  ?  That  involves  two  questions :  What  did  they 
do  ?  and  What  was  the  sin  of  doing  it  ?  The  former 
question  may  be  answered  in  various  ways.  Certainly 
the  designation  of  'strange  fire'  seems  best  explained 
by  the  usual  supposition  that  it  means  fire  not  taken 
from  the  altar.  The  other  explanations,  which  make 
the  sin  to  have  been  offering  at  an  unauthorised  time, 
or  offering  incense  not  compounded  according  to  the 
prescription,  give  an  unnatural  meaning  to  the  phrase. 
It  was  the  'fire'  which  was  wrong, — that  is,  it  was 
*fire  which  they  had  kindled,'  caught  up  from  some 
common  culinary  hearth,  or  created  by  themselves 
in  some  way. 

What  was  their  sin  in  thus  offering  it  ?  Plainly,  the 
narrative  points  to  the  essence  of  the  crime  in  calling 
it  'fire  which  He  had  not  commanded.'  So  this  was 
their  crime,  that  they  were  tampering  with  the 
appointed  order  which  but  a  week  before  they  had 
been  consecrated  to  conserve  and  administer;  that  they 
were  thus  thrusting  in  self-will  and  personal  caprice, 
as  of  equal  authority  with  the  divine  commandment ; 
that  they  were  arrogating  the  right  to  cut  and  carve 
God's  appointments,  as  the  whim  or  excitement  of  the 
moment  dictated ;  and  that  they  were  doing  their  best 


vs.  1-11]  STRANGE  FIRE  243 

to  obliterate  the  distinction  on  the  preservation  of 
which  religion,  morality,  and  the  national  existence 
depended ;  namely,  the  distinction  between  holy  and 
common,  clean  and  unclean.  To  plough  that  distinction 
deep  into  the  national  consciousness  was  no  small  part 
of  the  purpose  of  the  law ;  and  here  were  two  of  its 
appointed  witnesses  disregarding  it,  and  flying  in  its 
face.  The  flash  of  holy  fire  consuming  the  sacrifices 
had  scarcely  faded  off  their  eyeballs  when  they  thus 
sinned. 

They  have  had  many  successors,  not  only  in  Israel, 
while  a  ritual  demanding  punctilious  conformity  lasted, 
but  in  Christendom  since.  Alas !  our  censers  are  often 
flaming  with  •  strange  fire.'  How  much  so-called  Chris- 
tian worship  glows  with  self-will  or  with  partisan  zeal  1 
When  we  seek  to  worship  God  for  what  we  can  get, 
when  we  rush  into  His  presence  with  hot,  eager  desires 
which  we  have  not  subordinated  to  His  will,  we  are 
burning  'strange  fire  which  He  has  not  commanded.' 
The  only  fire  which  should  kindle  the  incense  in  our 
censers,  and  send  it  up  to  heaven  in  fragrant  wreaths, 
is  fire  cavight  from  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  God  must 
kindle  the  flame  in  our  hearts  if  we  are  to  render  these 
else  cold  hearts  to  Him. 

*  The  prayers  I  bring  will  then  be  sweet  indeed 
If  Thou  the  Spirit  give,  by  which  I  pray.' 

The  swift,  terrible  punishment  does  indeed  bear 
marks  of  the  severity  of  that  earlier  stage  of  revela- 
tion. But  it  was  not  disproportioned  to  the  offence, 
and  it  was  not  the  cruelty  of  a  martinet  who  avenged 
ceremonial  lapses  with  penalties  which  should  have 
been  kept  for  moral  offences.  The  surface  of  the  sin 
was  ceremonial  impropriety ;  the  heart  of  it  was  flout- 


244  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS      [ch.  x. 

ing  Jehovah  and  His  law.  It  was  better  that  two  men 
should  die,  and  the  whole  nation  perish  not,  as  it  would 
have  done  if  their  example  had  been  followed.  It  is 
mercy  to  trample  out  the  first  sparks  beside  a  powder- 
barrel. 

There  is  a  very  striking  parallel  between  verse  2  and 
the  last  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter.  In  both  the 
same  expression  is  used,  'There  came  forth  fire  from 
before  the  Lord,  and  consumed'  (the  word  rendered 
devoured  in  verse  2  is  the  same  in  Hebrew  as  consumed). 
So,  then,  the  same  divine  fire,  which  had  graciously 
signified  God's  acceptance  of  the  appointed  sacrifice, 
now  flashed  out  with  lightning-like  power  of  destruc- 
tion, and  killed  the  two  rebel  priests.  There  is  dor- 
mant potency  of  destruction  in  the  God  who  reveals 
Himself  as  gracious.  The  'wrath  of  the  Lamb'  is  as 
real  as  His  gentleness.  The  Gospel  is  'the  savour  of  life 
unto  life '  and  '  of  death  unto  death.' 

Moses'  word  to  the  stunned  father  is  of  a  piece  with 
the  severity  of  the  whole  incident.  No  voice  of  con- 
dolence or  sympathy  comes  from  him.  The  brother  is 
swallowed  up  in  the  lawgiver.  He  puts  into  words 
the  meaning  of  the  terrible  stroke,  and  expects  Aaron 
to  acquiesce,  though  his  heart  bleeds.  What  was  his 
interpretation?  He  saw  in  it  God's  purpose  to  be 
'  sanctified  in  them  that  come  nigh  Him.'  The  priests 
were  these.  Nadab  and  Abihu  had  been  consecrated 
for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  truth  of  God's  holi- 
ness. They  had  done  the  very  opposite,  by  breaking 
down  the  distinction  between  sacred  and  common. 

But  their  nearness  to  God  brought  with  it  not  only 
corresponding  obligations,  but  corresponding  crimi- 
nality and  penalty,  if  these  obligations  were  not  dis- 
charged.   If  God  is  not  *  sanctified '  hy  His  servants,  He 


vs.  1-11]  STRANGE  FIRE  245 

will  sanctify  Himself  on  them.  If  His  people  do  not  set 
forth  His  infinite  separation  from  all  evil  and  elevation 
above  all  creatures,  He  will  proclaim  these  truths  in 
lightning  that  kills  and  thunder  that  roars.  It  is  a 
universal  law  which  Moses  sternly  spoke  to  Aaron 
instead  of  comfort,  bidding  him  recognise  the  necessity 
of  the  fearful  blow  to  his  paternal  heart.  '  You  only 
have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  there- 
fore I  will  punish  you  for  all  your  iniquities.' 

The  prohibition  to  Aaron  and  his  sons  to  show  signs 
of  mourning  is  as  stern  as  the  rest  of  the  story,  and 
serves  to  insist  upon  the  true  point  of  view  from  which 
to  regard  it.  For  the  official  representatives  of  the 
divine  order  of  worship  to  mourn  the  deaths  of  its 
assailants  would  have  seemed  to  indicate  their  mur- 
muring at  God's  judgments,  and  might  have  led  them  to 
participate  in  the  sin  while  they  lamented  its  punish- 
ment. It  is  hard  to  mourn  and  not  to  repine.  Affec- 
tion blinds  to  the  ill-desert  of  its  objects.  Nadab's  and 
Abihu's  stark  corpses  lying  in  the  forecourt  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  Aaron's  dry  eyes  and  undisturbed  attire, 
proclaim  the  same  truths, — the  gravity  of  the  dead 
men's  sin,  and  the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  But 
the  people  might  sorrow,  for  their  mourning  would 
help  to  imprint  on  them  more  deeply  the  lessons  of  the 
dread  event. 

While  the  victims'  cousins  carried  their  bodies  to 
their  graves  in  the  sand,  their  father  and  brothers  had 
to  remain  in  the  Tabernacle,  because  '  the  anointing  oil 
of  Jehovah  is  upon  you.'  That  oil,  as  the  symbol  of  the 
Spirit,  separates  those  on  whom  it  is  poured  from  all 
contact  with  death,  from  participation  in  sin,  from  the 
weight  of  sorrow.  What  have  immortality,  righteous- 
ness, joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  do  with  these   dark 


246  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS      [ch.x. 

shadows?  Those  whom  God  has  called  to  His  im- 
mediate service  must  hold  themselves  apart  from 
earthly  passions,  and  must  control  natural  affection, 
if  indulging  it  imperils  their  clear  witness  to  God's 
righteous  will. 

The  prohibition  (verses  8-11)  of  wine  and  strong 
drink  during  the  discharge  of  the  priestly  functions 
seems  to  suggest  that  Nadab  and  Abihu  had  committed 
their  sin  while  in  some  degree  intoxicated.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  prohibition  is  rested  upon  the  necessity  of 
preserving,  in  all  its  depth  and  breadth,  the  distinction 
between  common  and  holy  which  Nadab  and  Abihu 
had  broken  down.  That  distinction  was  to  be  very 
present  to  the  priest  in  his  work,  and  how  could  he 
have  the  clearness  of  mind,  the  coUectedness  and 
composure,  the  sense  of  the  sanctity  of  his  office,  and 
ministrations  which  it  requires  and  gives,  if  he  was 
under  the  influence  of  strong  drink  ? 

Nothing  has  more  power  to  blur  the  sharpness  of 
moral  and  religious  insight  than  even  a  small  amount 
of  alcohol.  God  must  be  worshipped  with  clear  brain 
and  naturally  beating  heart.  Not  the  fumes  of  wine, 
in  which  there  lurks  almost  necessarily  the  tendency 
to  'excess,'  but  the  being  'filled  with  the  Spirit'  supplies 
the  only  legitimate  stimulus  to  devotion.  Besides  the 
personal  reason  for  abstinence,  there  was  another, — 
namely,  that  only  so  could  the  priests  teach  the 
people  'the  statutes'  of  Jehovah.  Lips  stained  from 
the  wine-cup  would  not  be  fit  to  speak  holy  words. 
Words  spoken  by  such  would  carry  no  power. 

God's  servants  can  never  impress  on  the  sluggish 
conscience  of  society  their  solemn  messages  from  God, 
unless  they  are  conspicuously  free  from  self-indulgence, 
and  show  by  their  example  the  gulf,  wide  as  between 


vs.  1-11]    THE  LEPER'S  CLEANSING         247 

heaven  and  hell,  which  parts  cleanness  from  unclean- 
ness.  Our  lives  must  witness  to  the  eternal  distinction 
between  good  and  evil,  if  we  are  to  draw  men  to  *  abhor 
that  which  is  evil,  and  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.' 


THE  FIRST  STAGE  IN  THE  LEPER'S 
CLEANSING 

'And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  2.  This  shall  be  the  law  of  the  leper 
In  the  day  of  hia  cleansing:  He  shaU  be  brought  unto  the  priest:  3.  And  the 
priest  shall  go  forth  out  of  the  camp ;  and  the  priest  shall  look,  and,  behold,  if  the 
plague  of  leprosy  be  healed  in  the  leper;  i.  Then  shall  the  priest  command  to 
take  for  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  two  birds  alive  and  clean,  and  cedar-wood, 
and  scarlet,  and  hyssop :  5.  And  the  priest  shall  command  that  one  of  the  birds 
be  killed  in  an  earthen  vessel  over  running  water :  6.  As  for  the  living  bird,  he 
shall  take  it,  and  the  cedar-wood,  and  the  scarlet,  and  the  hyssop,  and  shall  dip 
them  and  the  living  bird  in  the  blood  of  the  bird  that  was  killed  over  the  running 
water :  7.  And  he  shall  sprinkle  upon  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  from  the  leprosy 
seven  times,  and  shall  pronounce  him  clean,  and  shall  let  the  living  bird  loose 
into  the  open  field.'— Lev.  xiv.  1-7. 

The  whole  treatment  of  leprosy  is  parabolic.  Leprosy 
itself  is  a  'parable  of  death.'  The  horrible  loath- 
someness, the  contagiousness,  the  non-curableness,  etc. 
So  the  man  was  shut  out  from  camp  and  from 
sanctuary.  There  was  a  double  process  in  the  cleansing 
rite,  restoring  to  each. 

I.  Sketch  the  ceremonial.  Two  birds,  one  slain  over 
a  vessel  of  water  so  that  its  blood  drained  in.  Then 
the  living  bird  was  to  be  dipped  into  this  water  and 
blood,  along  with  cedar,  scarlet,  and  hyssop,  and  the 
man  sprinkled  seven  times  and  the  living  bird  set 
loose. 

II.  The  significance.  This  elaborate  symbolism  was 
partly  intelligible  even  then.  Two  birds,  like  the  two 
goats  on  the  Atonement  Day.  Did  both  in  some  sense 
symbolise  the  man?  The  first  one  was  not  exactly 
a  sacrifice.  Its  death  points  to  the  physical  death 
which  was  the  end  of  the  disease,  but  also  in  some 


248  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

sense  its  death  symbolised  the  death  by  which  cleans- 
ing was  secured. 

(a)  The  purifying  water  is  made  by  blood  added  to 
it,  Le.  cleansing  by  sacrifice. 

*  By  water  and  by  blood.' 

(6)  The  sevenfold  sprinkling.  The  cedar,  symbol  of 
incorruptibility ;  the  scarlet,  of  full  vital  energy ;  the 
hyssop,  of  purifying.  So  the  thought  was  suggested  of 
the  communication  of  cleansing,  full  health  and  in- 
corruption,  undecaying  strength ;  all  physical  contrasts 
to  leprosy  sevenfold. 

(c)  The  free,  glad  activity.  The  freed  bird.  The 
restored  leper. 

THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT 

'And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  after  the  death  of  the  two  sons  of  Aaron 
when  they  offered  before  the  Lord,  and  died ;  2.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Speak  unto  Aaron  thy  brother,  that  he  come  not  at  all  times  into  the  holy  place 
within  the  vail  before  the  mercy-seat,  which  is  upon  the  ark  ;  that  he  die  not :  for 
I  will  appear  in  the  cloud  upon  the  mercy-seat.  3.  Thus  shall  Aaron  come  into 
the  holy  place ;  with  a  young  bullock  for  a  sin  offering,  and  a  ram  for  a  burnt 
offering.  4.  He  shall  put  on  the  holy  linen  coat,  and  he  shall  have  the  linen 
breeches  upon  his  flesh,  and  shall  be  girded  with  a  linen  girdle,  and  with  the  linen 
mitre  shall  he  be  attired :  these  are  holy  garments ;  therefore  shall  he  wash  his 
flesh  in  water,  and  so  put  them  on.  5.  And  he  shall  take  of  the  congregation  of 
the  children  of  Israel  two  kids  of  the  goats  for  a  sin  offering,  and  one  ram  for  a 
burnt  offering.  6.  And  Aaron  shall  offer  his  bullock  of  the  sin  offering,  which  is 
for  himself,  and  make  an  atonement  for  himse  f,  and  for  his  house.  7.  And  he 
shall  take  the  two  goats,  and  present  them  bef^re  the  Lord  at  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation.  8.  And  Aaron  shall  cast  lots  upon  the  two  goats; 
one  lot  for  the  Lord,  and  the  other  lot  for  the  scapegoat.  9.  And  Aaron  shall 
bring  the  goat  upon  which  the  Lord's  lot  fell,  and  offer  him  for  a  sin  offering: 
10.  But  the  goat,  on  which  the  lot  fell  to  be  the  scapegoat,  shall  be  presented 
alive  before  the  Lord,  to  make  an  atonement  with  Him,  and  to  let  him  go  for  a 
scapegoat  into  the  wilderness.  11.  And  Aaron  shall  bring  the  bullock  of  the  sin 
offering  which  is  for  himself,  and  shall  make  an  atonement  for  himself,  and  for 
his  house,  and  shall  kill  the  bullock  of  the  sin  offering  which  is  for  himself. 
12.  And  he  shall  take  a  censer  full  of  burning  coals  of  fire  from  off  the  altar  before 
the  Lord,  and  his  hands  full  of  sweet  incense  beaten  small,  and  bring  it  within  the 
vail :  13.  And  he  shall  put  the  incense  upon  the  Are  before  the  Lord,  that  the  cloud 
of  the  incense  may  cover  the  mercy-seat  that  is  upon  the  testimony,  that  he  die 
not:  14.  And  he  shall  take  of  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and  sprinkle  it  with  li'. 
finger  upon  the  mercy-seat  eastward ;  and  before  the  mercy-seat  shall  he  sprink  e 
of  the  blood  with  his  finger  seven  times.  15.  Then  shall  he  kill  the  goat  of  the 
sin  offering,  that  is  for  the  people,  and  bring  his  blood  within  the  vail,  and  do  with 
that  blood  as  he  did  with  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and  sprinkle  it  upoii  the  mercy- 
seat,  and  before  the  mercy-seat.  16.  And  he  shall  make  an  atonement  for  the 
holy  place,  because  of  the  uncleanness  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  becaura  of  their 


vs.  1-19]  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT         249 

transgressions  in  all  LLoir  sins:  and  so  shall  he  do  for  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation,  that  remaineth  among  them  in  the  midst  of  their  uncleanness. 
17.  And  there  shall  be  no  man  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  when  hegoeth 
in  to  make  an  atonement  in  the  holy  place,  until  he  come  out,  and  have  made  an 
atonement  for  himself,  and  for  his  household,  and  for  all  the  congregation  of 
Israel.  18.  And  he  shall  go  out  unto  the  altar  that  is  before  the  Lord,  and  make 
an  atonement  for  it ;  and  shall  take  of  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and  of  the  blood  of 
the  goat,  and  put  it  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar  round  about.  19.  And  he  shall 
sprinkle  of  the  blood  upon  it  with  his  finger  seven  times,  and  cleanse  it,  and  hallow 
it  from  the  uncleanness  of  the  children  of  Israel.'— Lev.  xvi.  1-19. 

The  Talmudical  treatise  on  the  ritual  of  the  day  of 
atonement  is  entitled  '  Yoma,'  the  day,  which  suffici- 
ently expresses  its  importance  in  the  series  of  sacri- 
ficial observances.  It  vras*  the  confession  of  the  incom- 
pleteness of  them  all,  a  ceremonial  proclamation  that 
ceremonies  do  not  avail  to  take  away  sin  ;  and  it  was 
also  a  declaration  that  the  true  end  of  worship  is  not 
reached  till  the  worshipper  has  free  access  to  the  holy 
place  of  the  Most  High.  Thus  the  prophetic  element 
is  the  very  life-breath  of  this  supreme  institution  of 
the  old  covenant,  which  therein  acknowledges  its  own 
defects,  and  feeds  the  hopes  of  a  future  better  thing. 
We  do  not  here  consider  the  singular  part  of  the  ritual 
of  the  Day  of  Atonement  which  is  concerned  with  the 
treatment  of  the  so-called  '  scapegoat,'  but  confine  our- 
selves to  the  consideration  of  that  part  of  it  which 
was  observed  in  the  Tabernacle  and  was  intended  to 
expiate  the  sins  of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  people. 
The  chapter  connects  the  rites  of  the  Day  of  Atonement 
with  the  tragic  death  of  the  sons  of  Aaron,  which 
witnessed  to  the  sanctity  of  the  inner  shrine,  as  not 
to  be  trodden  but  with  the  appointed  offerings  by  the 
appointed  priest ;  and  so  makes  the  whole  a  divinely 
given  instruction  as  to  the  means  by  which,  and  the 
objects  for  which,  Aaron  may  enter  within  the  veil. 

I.  In  verses  3-10  we  have  the  preliminaries  of  the 
sacrifices  and  a  summary  of  the  rites.  First,  Aaron 
was  to  bathe,  and  then  tp  robe  himself  in  pure  white. 


250  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

The  dress  is  in  singular  contrast  to  the  splendour  of 
his  usual  official  costume,  in  which  he  stood  before 
men  as  representing  God,  and  evidently  signifies  the 
purity  which  alone  fits  for  entrance  into  the  awful 
presence.  Thus  vested,  he  brings  the  whole  of  the 
animals  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  altar, — namely,  for  him- 
self and  his  order,  a  bullock  and  a  ram ;  for  the  people, 
two  goats  and  a  ram.  The  goats  are  then  taken  by 
him  to  the  door  of  the  tent, — and  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  they  are  spoken  of  as  both  constituting  one  sin 
offering  (v.  5).  They  therefore  both  belong  to  the 
Lord,  and  are,  in  some  important  sense,  one,  as  was 
recognised  by  the  later  Rabbinical  prescription  that 
they  should  be  alike  in  colour,  size,  and  value.  The 
appeal  to  the  lot  was  an  appeal  to  God  to  decide  the 
parts  they  were  respectively  to  sustain  in  a  transaction 
which,  in  both  parts,  was  really  one.  The  consideration 
of  the  meaning  of  the  ritual  for  the  one  which  was 
led  away  may  be  postponed  for  the  present.  The 
preliminaries  end  with  the  casting  of  the  lots,  and 
in  later  times,  with  tying  the  ominous  red  fillet  on 
the  head  of  the  dumb  creature  for  which  so  weird  a 
fate  was  in  store. 

II.  The  first  part  of  the  ritual  proper  (vs.  11-14)  is  the 
expiation  for  the  sins  of  Aaron  and  the  priesthood, 
and  his  entrance  into  the  most  holy  place.  The  bullock 
was  slain  in  the  usual  manner  of  the  sin  offering,  but 
its  blood  was  destined  for  a  more  solemn  use.  The 
white-robed  priest  took  a  censer  of  burning  embers 
from  the  altar  before  the  tent-door,  and  two  hands  full 
of  incense,  and,  thus  laden,  passed  into  the  Tabernacle. 
How  the  silent  crowd  in  the  outer  court  would  watch 
the  last  flutter  of  the  white  robe  as  it  was  lost  in 
the  gloom  within  1    He  passed  through  the  holy  place, 


vs.  1-19]  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT        251 

which,  on  every  day  but  this,  was  the  limit  of  his 
approach ;  but,  on  this  one  day,  he  lifted  the  curtain, 
and  entered  the  dark  chamber,  where  the  glory  flashed 
from  the  golden  walls  and  rested  above  the  ark.  Would 
not  his  heart  beat  faster  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  the 
heavy  veil,  and  caught  the  first  gleam  of  the  calm  light 
from  the  Shechinah  ?  As  soon  as  he  entered,  he  was  to 
cast  the  incense  into  the  censer,  that  the  fragrant  cloud 
might  cover  the  mercy-seat.  Incense  is  the  symbol 
of  prayer,  and  that  curling  cloud  is  a  picture  of  the 
truth  that  the  purest  of  men,  even  the  anointed  priest, 
robed  in  white,  who  has  offered  sacrifices  daily  all 
the  year  round,  and  to-day  has  anxiously  obeyed  all 
the  commands  of  ceremonial  cleanliness,  can  yet  only 
draw  near  to  God  as  a  suppliant,  not  entering  there 
as  having  a  right  of  access,  but  beseeching  entrance 
as  undeserved  mercy.  The  incense  did  not  cover  '  the 
glory '  that  Aaron  might  not  gaze  upon  it,  but  it  covered 
him  that  Jehovah  might  not  look  on  his  sin.  It  would 
appear  that,  between  verse  13  and  verse  14,  Aaron's 
leaving  the  most  holy  place  to  bring  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifice  must  be  understood.  If  so,  we  can  fancy  the 
long-drawn  sigh  of  relief  with  which  the  waiting 
worshippers  saw  him  return,  and  carry  back  into  the 
shrine  the  expiating  blood.  The  'most  holy  place'  would 
still  be  filled  and  its  atmosphere  thick  with  the  incense 
fumes  when  he  returned  to  perform  the  solemn  expia- 
tion for  himself  and  the  whole  priestly  order.  Once 
the  blood  was  sprinkled  on  the  mercy-seat,  and  seven 
times,  apparently,  on  the  ground  in  front  of  it.  The 
former  act  was  intended,  as  seems  probable,  to  make 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  priesthood;  the  latter, 
to  cleanse  the  sanctuary  from  the  ideal  defilements 
arising  from  their  defective  and  sinful  ministrations. 


252  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

This  completed  the  part  of  the  ceremonial  which 
belonged  immediately  to  Aaron  and  the  priests.  It 
carries  important  lessons.  Could  there  be  a  more 
striking  exhibition  of  their  imperfect  realisation  of 
the  idea  of  the  priestly  office?  Observe  the  anomaly 
inherent  in  the  very  necessity  of  the  case.  Aaron  was 
dressed  in  the  white  robes  emblematic  of  purity;  he 
had  partaken  in  the  benefit  of,  and  had  himself  offered, 
sacrifices  all  the  year  round.  So  far  as  ritual  could 
go,  he  was  pure,  and  yet  so  stained  with  sin  that  he 
dared  not  enter  into  the  divine  presence  without  that 
double  safeguard  of  the  incense  and  the  blood.  The 
priest  who  cleanses  others  is  himself  unclean,  and  he 
and  his  fellows  have  tainted  the  sanctuary  by  the  very 
services  which  were  meant  to  atone  and  to  purify. 
That  solemn  ritual  is  intended  to  teach  priest  and 
people  alike,  that  every  priest '  taken  from  among  men ' 
fails  in  his  office,  and  pollutes  the  temple  instead  of 
purifying  the  worshipper.  But  the  office  was  God's 
appointment,  and  therefore  would  not  always  be  filled 
by  mv^n  too  small  and  sinful  for  its  requirements. 
There  must  somewhere  and  somewhen  be  a  priest  who 
will  be  one  indeed,  fulfilling  the  divine  ideal  of  the 
functions,  and  answering  the  deep  human  longings 
which  have  expressed  themselves  in  all  lands,  for  one, 
pure  with  no  ceremonial  but  a  real  purity,  to  bring 
us  to  God  and  God  to  us,  to  offer  sacrifice  which  shall 
need  no  after  atonement  to  expiate  its  defects,  and 
to  stand  without  incense  or  blood  of  sprinkling  for 
himself  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.  The  imper- 
fections of  the  human  holders  of  the  Old  Testament 
offices,  whether  priest,  prophet,  or  king,  were  no  less 
prophecies  than  their  positive  qualifications  were. 
Therefore,  when  we  see  Aaron  passing  into  the  holy 


vs.  1-19]  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT        253 

place,  we  see  the  dim  shadow  of  Christ,  who  *  needeth 
not  to  make  atonement '  for  His  own  sins,  and  is  our 
priest  *  for  ever.' 

III.  The  ritual  for  the  atonement  of  the  sins  of 
the  people  follows.  The  two  goats  had  been,  during 
all  this  time,  standing  at  the  door  of  the  Taber- 
nacle. We  have  already  pointed  out  that  they  are 
to  be  considered  as  one  sacrifice.  There  are  two 
of  them,  for  the  same  reason,  as  has  been  often 
remarked,  as  there  were  two  birds  in  the  ritual  of 
cleansing  the  leper ;  namely,  because  one  animal  could 
not  represent  the  two  parts  of  the  one  whole  truth 
which  they  are  meant  to  set  forth.  The  one  was 
sacrificed  as  a  sin  offering,  and  the  other  led  away 
into  a  solitary  land.  Here  we  consider  the  meaning 
of  the  former  only,  which  presents  no  difficulty.  It 
is  a  sin  offering  for  the  people,  exactly  corresponding 
to  that  just  offered  for  the  priests.  The  same  use  is 
made  of  the  blood,  which  is  once  sprinkled  by  Aaron 
on  the  mercy -seat  and  seven  times  on  the  ground 
before  it,  as  in  the  former  case.  It  is  not,  however, 
all  employed  there,  but  part  of  it  is  carried  out  into 
the  other  divisions  of  the  Tabernacle;  and  first,  the 
holy  place,  which  the  priests  daily  entered  and  which 
is  called  in  verse  16  'the  tent  of  meeting,'  and  next, 
the  altar  of  burnt  offering  in  the  outer  court,  are  in 
like  manner  sprinkled  seven  times  with  the  blood,  to 
'hallow'  them  'from  the  uncleanness  of  the  children 
of  Israel'  (verse  19).  The  teaching  of  this  rite,  in  its 
bearing  upon  the  people,  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
previous  priestly  expiation.  The  insufficiency  of  sacri- 
ficial cleansing  is  set  forth  by  this  annual  atonement 
for  sins  which  had  all  been  already  atoned  for.  The 
defects  of  a  ritual  worship  are  proclaimed  by  the  ritual 


254  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

which  cleanses  the  holy  places  from  the  uncleanness 
contracted  by  them  from  the  worshippers.  If  the 
altar,  the  seat  of  expiation,  itself  needed  expiation, 
how  imperfect  its  worth  must  be!  If  the  cleansing 
fountain  is  foul,  how  shall  it  be  cleansed,  or  how  shall 
it  cleanse  the  offerers?  The  bearing  of  the  blood  of 
expiation  into  the  most  holy  place,  where  no  Israelite 
ever  entered,  save  the  high  priest,  taught  that  the 
true  expiation  could  only  be  effected  by  one  who 
should  pass  into  the  presence  of  God,  and  leave  the 
door  wide  open  for  all  to  enter.  For  surely  the  dis- 
tance between  the  worshippers  and  the  mercy-seat 
was  a  confession  of  imperfection;  and  the  entrance 
there  of  the  representative  of  the  sinful  people  was 
the  holding  out  of  a  dim  hope  that  in  some  fashion, 
yet  unknown,  the  veil  would  be  rent,  and  true  com- 
munion be  possible  for  the  humble  soul.  The  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  tells  us  where  we  are  to  look  for  the 
realities  of  which  these  ceremonies  were  the  fore- 
shadowings.  The  veil  was  rent  at  the  crucifixion. 
Christ  has  gone  into  '  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,' 
and  if  we  love  Him,  our  hearts  have  gone  with  Him, 
and  our  lives  are  *  hid  with  Him,  in  God.' 


•THE  SCAPEGOAT* 

*And  the  goat  shall  hear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto  a  land  not  in- 
habited. .  .  .'—Lev.  xvi.  22. 

The  import  of  the  remarkable  treatment  of  this 
goat  does  not  depend  on  the  interpretation  of  the 
obscure  phrase  rendered  in  the  Authorised  Version 
'for  the  scapegoat.'  Leaving  that  out  of  sight  for 
the  moment,  we  observe  that  the  two  animals  were 
one  sacrifice,  and  that  the  transaction  with  the  living 


V.22]  'THE  SCAPEGOAT'  255 

one  was  the  completion  of  that  with  the  slain.  The 
sins  of  the  congregation,  which  had  been  already  ex- 
piated by  the  sacrifice,  were  laid  by  the  high  priest  on 
the  head  of  the  goat,  which  was  then  sent  away  into 
the  wilderness  that  he  might  *  bear  upon  him  all  their 
iniquities  unto  a  land  not  inhabited'  (v.  22).  Nothing 
depends  on  the  fate  of  the  goat,  though,  in  after 
times,  it  was  forced  over  a  precipice  and  so  killed. 
The  carrying  away  of  expiated  sin,  and  not  the  de- 
struction of  unexpiated  sinners,  is  the  meaning  of  the 
impressive  rite,  and,  had  it  been  possible,  the  same 
goat  that  was  sacrificed  would  have  been  sent  into 
the  desert.  As  that  could  not  be  done,  an  ideal  unity 
was  established  between  the  two :  the  one  sacrificed 
represented  the  fact  of  expiation,  the  one  driven  away 
represented  the  consequences  of  expiation  in  the 
complete  removal  of  sin.  The  expiation  was  made 
'  within  the  veil ' ;  but  a  visible  token  of  its  completeness 
was  given  to  help  feeble  faith,  in  the  blessed  mystery 
of  the  unseen  propitiation.  What  was  divided  in  the 
symbol  between  the  twin  goats  is  all  done  by  the  one 
Sacrifice,  who  has  entered  into  the  holiest  of  all,  at 
once  Priest  and  Sacrifice,  and  with  His  own  blood  made 
expiation  for  sin,  and  has  likewise  carried  away  the 
sin  of  the  world  into  a  land  of  forgetfulness,  whence 
it  never  can  return. 

The  clear  meaning  of  the  rite  is  thus  obtained, 
whatever  be  the  force  of  the  difficult  phrase  already 
referred  to.  'Scapegoat'  is  certainly  wrong.  But  it 
may  be  questioned  whether  the  Revised  Version  is 
right  in  retaining  the  Hebrew  word  untranslated,  and, 
by  putting  a  capital  letter  to  it,  marking  it  as  a  proper 
name  ('for  Azazel').  The  word  occurs  only  here,  so 
that  we  have  no  help  from  other  passages.    It  seems 


256  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.  xvi. 

to  come  from  a  root  meaning  'to  drive  away,'  and 
those  who  take  it  to  be  a  proper  name,  generally 
suppose  it  to  refer  to  some  malignant  spirit,  or  to 
Satan,  and  interpret  it  as  meaning  'a  fiend  whom  one 
drives  away,'  or,  sometimes,  'who  drives  away.'  The 
vindication  of  such  an  interpretation  is  supposed  to 
lie  in  the  necessity  of  finding  a  complete  antithesis 
in  the  phrase  to  the  'for  Jehovah'  of  the  previous 
clause  in  verse  8.  But  it  is  surely  sacrificing  a  good 
deal  to  rhetorical  propriety  to  drag  in  an  idea  so 
foreign  to  the  Pentateuch,  and  so  opposed  to  the  plain 
fact,  that  both  goats  were  one  sin  offering  (v.  5),  in 
order  to  get  a  pedantically  correct  antithesis.  In  the 
absence  of  any  guidance  from  usage,  certainty  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  word  is  unattainable.  But  there 
seems  no  reason,  other  than  that  of  the  said  antithesis, 
against  taking  it  to  mean  removal  or  dismissal,  rather 
than  '  a  remover.'  The  Septuagint  translates  it  in  both 
ways :  as  a  person  in  verse  8,  and  as  *  sending  away ' 
in  verse  10.  If  the  latter  meaning  be  adopted,  then 
the  word  just  defines  the  same  purpose  as  is  given 
more  at  length  in  verse  22,  namely,  the  carrying  away 
of  the  sins  of  the  congregation.  The  logical  imper- 
fection of  the  opposition  in  verse  8  would  then  be 
simply  enough  solved  by  the  fact  that  while  both  goats 
were  'for  the  Lord,'  one  was  destined  to  be  actually 
offered  in  sacrifice,  and  the  other  to  be  *  for  dismissal.* 
The  incomplete  contrast  testifies  to  the  substantial 
unity  of  the  two,  and  needs  no  introduction,  into  the 
most  sacred  rite  of  the  old  covenant,  of  a  ceremony 
which  looks  liker  demon-worship  than  a  parable  of  the 
great  expiation  for  a  world's  sins. 

The  question  for  us  is,  What  spiritual  ideas  are  con- 
tained in  this  Levitical  symbolism  ?     There  is  signified, 


V.  22]  *THE   SCAPEGOAT*  257 

surely,  the  condition  of  approach  to  God.  Remember 
how  the  Israelites  had  impressed  on  their  minds  the 
awful  sanctity  of  '  within  the  veil.'  The  inmost  shrine 
was  trodden  once  a  year  only  by  the  high  priest,  and 
only  after  anxious  lustrations  and  when  clothed  in  pure 
garments,  he  entered  *  with  sacrifice  and  incense  lest  he 
die.'  This  ritual  was  for  a  gross  and  untutored  age, 
but  the  men  of  that  age  were  essentially  like  ourselves, 
and  we  have  the  same  sins  jand  spiritual  necessities  as 
they  had. 

The  two  goats  are  regarded  as  one  sacrifice.  They 
are  a  *  sin  offering.'  Hence,  to  show  how  unimportant 
and  non-essential  is  the  distinction  between  them,  the 
'  lot '  is  employed ;  also,  while  the  one  is  being  slain,  the 
other  stands  before  the  *  door  of  the  Tabernacle.'  This 
shows  that  both  are  parts  of  one  whole,  and  it  is  only 
from  the  impossibility  of  presenting  both  halves  of  the 
truth  to  be  symbolised  in  one  that  two  are  taken.  The 
one  which  is  slain  represents  the  sacrifice  for  sin.  The 
other  represents  the  effects  of  that  sacrifice.  It  is  never 
heard  of  more.  '  The  Lamb  of  God  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world.'  'As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west, 
so  far  hath  He  removed  our  transgressions  from  us.' 

I.  The  perfect  removal  of  all  sin  is  thus  symbolised. 

Notice  (1)  the  vivid  consciousness  of  sin  which  marked 
'Judaism. 

Was  it  exaggerated  or  right  ? 

The  same  consciousness  is  part  of  all  of  us,  but  how 
overlaid  !  how  stifled ! 

That  consciousness  once  awakened  has  in  it  these 
elements — a  bitter  sense  of  sin  as  mine,  involving  guilt ; 
despair  as  to  whether  I  can  ever  overcome  it ;  and  fear- 
ful thoughts  of  my  relation  to  God  which  conscience 
itself  brings. 

B 


258  THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

(2)  The  futility  of  all  attempts  to  remove  these  fears. 
False  religions  have  next   to  nothing  to  say  about 

forgiveness.  Sacrifices  and  lustrations  they  have,  but 
no  assurance  of  absolution.  Systems  of  philosophy 
and  morals  have  nothing  to  say  but  that  the  universe 
goes  crashing  on,  and  if  you  have  broken  its  laws  you 
must  suffer.  That  is  all,  or  only  the  poor  cheer  of 
'  Well !  you  have  fallen,  get  up  and  go  on  again ! '  So 
men  often  drug  themselves  into  forgetfulness.  They 
turn  away  from  the  unwelcome  subject,  and  forget  it 
at  the  price  of  all  moral  earnestness  and  often  of  all 
happiness ;  a  lethargic  sleep  or  a  gaiety,  as  little  real 
as  that  of  the  Girondins  singing  in  their  prison  the 
night  before  being  led  out  to  the  guillotine. 

It  is  only  God's  authoritative  revelation  that  can 
ensure  the  cure,  only  He  can  assure  us  of  pardon,  and 
of  the  removal  of  all  barriers  between  ourselves  and 
His  love.  Only  His  word  can  ensure,  and  His  power 
can  effect,  the  removal  of  the  consequences  of  our  sins. 
Only  His  word  can  ensure,  and  His  power  effect,  the 
removal  of  the  power  of  evil  on  our  characters. 

(3)  Still  the  question,  Can  guilt  ever  be  cancelled? 
often  assumes  a  fearful  significance. 

Doubtless  much  seems  to  say  that  it  cannot  be. 

(a)  The  irrevocableness  of  the  past. 

(6)  The  rigid  law  of  consequences  in  this  world. 

(c)  The  indissoluble  unity  of  an  individual  life  and 
moral  nature,  confirmed  by  the  experience  of  failure  in 
all  attempts  at  reformation  of  self. 

(d)  The  consciousness  of  disturbed  relations  with 
God,  and  the  prophecy  of  judgment.  All  this  that 
ancient  symbol  suggested.  The  picture  of  the  goat 
going  away,  and  away,  and  away,  a  lessening  speck  on 
the  horizon,  and  never  heard  of  more  is  the  divine 


V.22]  «THE  SCAPEGOAT*  259 

symbol  of  the  great  fact  that  there  is  full,  free, 
everlasting  forgiveness,  and  on  God's  part,  utter  for- 
getfulness.  '  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they 
shall  be  white  as  snow.'  *!  will  remember  them  no 
more  at  all  for  ever.' 

II.  The  bearing  away  of  sin  is  indissolubly  con- 
nected with  sacrifice.  Two  goats  were  provided,  of 
which  one  was  offered  for  a  sin  offering,  indicating 
that  sacrifice  came  first ;  then  the  removal  of  sin  was 
symbolised  by  the  sending  away  of  the  second  goat. 
There  is  an  evident  reference  to  this  sequence  in  the 
words  'without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remis- 
sion.' The  two  goats  represent  Christ's  work ;  the  one 
in  its  essence,  the  other  in  its  effect. 

The  one  teaches  that  sacrifice  is  a  necessary  con- 
dition of  pardon.  Forgiveness  was  not  given  because 
the  offerer  confessed  his  guilt  or  because  '  God  was 
merciful,'  but  because  the  goat  had  been  slain  as  a 
sin  offering.  There  is  deep  spiritual  truth  for  us  in 
this  symbolism.  We  do  not  need  to  enter  on  the 
philosophy  of  atonement,  but  simply  to  rest  on  the 
fact — that  the  only  authority  on  which  we  can  be 
sure  of  forgiveness  at  all  indissolubly  associates  the 
two  things,  sacrifice  and  pardon.  We  have  no  reason 
to  believe  in  forgiveness  except  from  the  Bible  record 
and  assurance. 

Was  the  Mosaic  ritual  a  divinely  appointed  thing? 
If  so,  its  testimony  is  conclusive.  But  even  if  it 
were  only  the  embodiment  of  human  aspirations  and 
wants,  it  would  be  a  strong  evidence  of  the  necessity 
of  some  such  thing  as  forgiveness. 

The  shallow  dream  that  God's  forgiveness  can  be 
extended  without  a  sacrifice  having  been  offered  does 
not  exalt  but  detracts  from  the  divine  character.    It 


260         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xvi. 

invariably  leads  to  an  emasculated  abhorrence  of  evil, 
and  detracts  from  the  holiness  of  God,  as  well  as  in- 
troduces low  thoughts  of  the  greatness  of  forgiveness 
and  of  the  infinite  love  of  God. 

III.  The  bearing  away  of  sin  is  associated  with  man's 
laying  of  his  sins  on  the  sacrifice  appointed  by  God. 

We  have  seen  that  the  two  goats  must  be  regarded 
as  together  making  one  whole.  The  one  which  was  slain 
made  'atonement  .  .  .  because  of  the  uncleannesses 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  because  of  their  trans- 
gressions, even  all  their  sins,'  but  that  expiation  was 
not  actually  effective  till  Aaron  had  'laid  his  hands 
on  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confessed  over  him 
all  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  .  .  .  and 
put  them  on  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  sent  him 
away  into  the  wilderness.'  The  sacrifice  of  the  slain 
goat  did  not  accomplish  the  pardon  or  removal  of  the 
people's  sins,  but  made  it  possible  that  their  sins  should 
be  pardoned  and  removed. 

Then  the  method  by  which  that  possibility  is  realised 
is  the  laying  hands  on  the  scapegoat  and  confessing 
the  sins  upon  it.  The  sins  which  are  actually  forgiven, 
by  virtue  of  the  atonement  made  for  all  sins,  are  those 
which  it  bears  away  to  the  wilderness. 

This  answers,  point  for  point,  to  repentance  and 
faith.  By  these  the  possibility  is  turned  into  an 
actuality  for  as  many  as  believe  on  Christ. 

Christ  has  died  for  sin.  Christ  has  made  atonement 
by  which  all  sin  may  be  forgiven ;  whether  any  shall 
actually  be  forgiven  depends  on  something  else.  It 
is  conceivable  that  though  Christ  died,  no  sin  might 
be  pardoned,  if  no  man  believed.  His  blood  would 
not,  even  then,  have  been  shed  in  vain,  for  the 
purpose  of  it  would  have  been  fully  effected  in  pro- 


V.  22]     THE  CONSECRATION  OF  JOY     261 

viding  a  way  by  which  any  and  all  sin  could  be  forgiven. 
So  that  the  whole  question  whether  any  man's  sin  is 
pardoned  turns  on  this,  Has  he  laid  his  hand  on 
Christ?  Faith  is  only  a  condition  of  forgiveness, 
not  a  cause,  or  in  itself  a  power.  There  was  no 
healing  in  the  mere  laying  of  the  hand  on  the  head  of 
the  goat. 

It  was  not  faith  which  was  the  reason  for  forgive- 
ness, but  God's  love  which  had  provided  the  sacrifice. 

God's  will  is  not  a  bare*  will  to  pardon,  nor  a  bare 
will  to  pardon  for  Christ's  sake,  but  for  Christ's  sake 
to  pardon  them  who  believe.  'Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.' 
'  Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  ? '  '  Through 
this  Man  is  preached  the  remission  of  sins.' 


THE  CONSECRATION  OF  JOY 

'  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  34.  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
eaying.  The  fifteenth  day  of  this  seventh  month  shall  be  the  feast  of  tabernacles 
for  seven  days  unto  the  Lord.  35.  On  the  first  day  shall  be  an  holy  convocation ; 
ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein.  36.  Seven  days  ye  shall  ofier  an  oflTering  made 
by  fire  unto  the  Lord ;  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  an  holy  convocation  unto  you  ; 
and  ye  shall  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord :  it  is  a  solemn  assembly ; 
and  ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein.  37.  These  are  the  feasts  of  the  Lord, 
which  ye  shall  proclaim  to  be  holy  convocations,  to  offer  an  offering  made  by 
fire  unto  the  Lord,  a  burnt  offering,  and  a  meat  offering,  a  sacrifice,  and  drink 
offerings,  every  thing  upon  his  day:  38.  Beside  the  sabbaths  of  the  Lord,  and 
beside  your  gifts,  and  beside  all  your  vows,  and  beside  all  your  freewill  offerings, 
which  ye  give  unto  the  Lord.  39.  Also  in  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  seventh  month, 
when  ye  have  gathered  in  the  fruit  of  the  land,  ye  shall  keep  a  feast  unto  the  Lord 
seven  days  :  on  the  first  day  shall  be  a  sabbath,  and  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  a 
sabbath.  40.  And  ye  shall  take  you  on  the  first  day  the  boughs  of  goodly  trees, 
branches  of  palm-trees,  and  the  boughs  of  thick  trees,  and  willows  of  the  brook ; 
and  ye  shall  rejoice  before  the  Lord  your  God  seven  days.  41.  And  ye  shall  keep  it 
a  feast  unto  the  Lord  seven  days  in  the  year.  It  shall  be  a  statute  for  ever  in  your 
generations :  ye  shall  celebrate  it  in  the  seventh  month.  42.  Ye  shall  dwell  in  booths 
seven  days;  all  that  are  Israelites  born  shall  dwell  in  booths:  43.  That  your 
generations  may  know  that  I  made  the  children  of  Israel  to  dwell  in  booths,  when 
I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.  44.  And  Moses 
declared  unto  the  children  of  Israel  the  feasts  of  the  Lord.'— Lev.  xxiii.  33-44. 

These    directions    for   the    observance    of   the  great 
festival  at  the  close  of  harvest  are  singularly  arranged. 


262     THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS     [cH.xxni. 

Verses  33-36  give  part  of  the  instructions  for  the  Feast, 
verses  37  and  38  interrupt  these  with  a  summary  of 
the  contents  of  the  chapter,  and  verses  39  to  the 
end  pick  up  the  broken  thread,  and  finish  the  regu- 
lations for  the  feast.  Naturally,  this  apparent  after- 
thought has  been  pointed  out  as  clear  evidence 
of  diversity  of  authorship.  But  a  reasonable  ex- 
planation may  be  given  on  the  hypothesis  of  the 
unity  of  the  section,  by  observing  that  verses  33-36 
deal  only  with  the  sacrificial  side  of  the  feast,  as 
worship  proper,  and  thus  come  into  line  with  the 
previous  part  of  the  chapter,  which  is  occupied  with 
an  enumeration  of  the  annual  'feasts  of  the  Lord' 
(v.  4).  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that,  when  the  list 
had  been  completed  by  the  sacrificial  prescriptions 
for  the  last  of  the  series,  the  close  of  the  catalogue 
should  be  marked,  in  verses  37,  38,  and  that  then  the 
other  parts  of  the  observances  connected  with  this 
feast,  which  are  not  sacrificial,  nor,  properly  speaking, 
worship,  should  be  added.  There  is  no  need  to  invoke 
the  supposition  of  two  authors,  and  a  subsequent 
stitching  together,  in  order  to  explain  the  arrange- 
ment. The  unity  is  all  the  more  probable  because, 
otherwise,  the  first  half  would  give  the  name  of  the 
feast  as  that  of  '  tabernacles,'  and  would  not  contain  a 
word  to  account  for  the  name. 

We  need  not,  then,  include  the  separating  wedge,  in 
verses  37,  38,  in  our  present  consideration.  The  ritual 
of  the  feast  is  broadly  divided  by  it,  and  we  may  con- 
sider the  two  portions  separately.  The  first  half 
prescribes  the  duration  of  the  feast  as  seven  days  (the 
perfect  number),  with  an  eighth,  which  is  named,  like 
the  first, '  an  holy  convocation,'  on  which  no  work  was 
to  be  done,  but  is  also  called  'a  solemn  assembly,'  or 


vs.  33-44]   THE  CONSECRATION  OF  JOY    263 

rather,  as  the  Revised  Version  reads,  in  margin,  'a 
closing  festival,'  inasmuch  as  it  closed,  not  only  that 
particular  feast,  but  the  whole  series  for  the  year.  The 
observances  enjoined,  then,  are  the  public  assembly 
on  the  first  and  eighth  days,  with  cessation  from, 
labour,  and  a  daily  offering.  We  learn  more  about 
the  offering  from  Numbers  xxix.  12  et  seq.,  which 
appoints  a  very  peculiar  arrangement.  On  each  day 
there  was  to  be,  as  on  other  feast  days,  one  goat  for  a 
sin  offering;  but  the  number  of  rams  and  lambs  for 
the  burnt  offering  was  doubled,  and,  during  the  seven 
days  of  the  feast,  seventy  bullocks  were  offered, 
arranged  in  a  singular  diminishing  scale, — thirteen 
on  the  first  day,  and  falling  off  by  one  a  day  till  the 
seventh  day,  when  seven  were  sacrificed.  The  eighth 
day  was  marked  as  no  part  of  the  feast  proper,  by 
the  number  of  sacrifices  offered  on  it,  dropping  to  one 
bullock,  one  ram,  and  seven  lambs.  No  satisfactory 
account  of  this  regulation  has  been  suggested.  It 
may  possibly  have  meant  no  more  than  to  mark  the 
first  day  as  the  chief,  and  to  let  the  worshippers  down 
gradually  from  the  extraordinary  to  the  ordinary. 

The  other  half  of  the  regulations  deals  with  the 
more  domestic  aspect  of  the  festival.  Observe,  as 
significant  of  the  different  point  of  view  taken  in  it, 
that  the  first  and  eighth  days  are  there  described, 
not  as  '  holy  convocations,'  but  as  •  sabbaths,'  or,  as 
the  Revised  Version  gives  it  better,  'a  solemn  rest.' 
Observe,  also,  that  these  verses  connect  the  feast  with 
the  ingathering  of  the  harvest,  as  does  Exodus  xxiii.  16. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  Moses  grafted  the  more  com- 
memorative aspect  of  the  feast  on  an  older  'harvest 
home ' ;  but  that  is  purely  conjectural,  however  con- 
fidently aflSrmed  as  certain.  To  tumble  down  cartloads 


264       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.  xxiii. 

of  quotations  about  all  sorts  of  nations  that  ran  up 
booths  and  feasted  in  them  at  vintage-time  does  not 
help  us  much.  The  '  joy  of  harvest '  was  unquestionably 
blended  with  the  joy  of  remembered  national  deliver- 
ance, but  that  the  latter  idea  was  superadded  to  the 
former  at  a  later  time  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  proven. 
Would  it  matter  very  much  if  it  were  ?  Three  kinds 
of  trees  are  specified  from  which  'the  fruit,'  that  is 
branches  with  fruit  on  them,  if  the  tree  bore  fruit, 
were  to  be  taken :  palms,  '  thick  trees,'  that  is  thick 
foliaged,  which  could  give  leafy  shade,  and  willows  of 
the  brook,  which  the  Rabbis  say  were  used  for  binding 
the  others  together.  Verse  40  does  not  tell  what  is  to 
be  done  with  these  branches,  but  the  later  usage  was 
to  carry  some  of  them  in  the  hand  as  well  as  to  use 
them  for  booths.  The  keynote  of  the  whole  feast  is 
struck  in  verse  40:  'Ye  shall  rejoice  before  the  Lord 
your  God.'  The  leafy  spoils  come  into  view  here  as 
tokens  of  jubilation,  which  certainly  suggests  their 
being  borne  in  the  hand ;  but  they  were  also  meant 
to  be  used  in  building  the  booths  in  which  the  whole 
nation  was  to  live  during  the  seven  days,  in  com- 
memoration of  God's  having  made  them  'dwell  in 
booths,  when  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.' 
This  is  all  that  is  enjoined  by  Moses.  Later  additions 
to  the  ceremonial  do  not  concern  us  here,  however 
interesting  some  of  these  are.  The  true  intention  of 
the  feast  is  best  learned  from  the  original  simple  form. 
What,  then,  was  its  intention?  It  was  the  com- 
memoration of  the  wilderness  life  as  the  ground  of 
rejoicing  '  before  the  Lord.'  But  we  must  not  forget 
that,  according  to  Leviticus,  it  was  appointed  while 
the  wilderness  life  was  still  present,  and  so  was  not  to 
be  observed  then.    Was  it,  then,  a  dead  letter,  or  had 


vs.  33-44]  THE  CONSECRATION  OF  JOY    265 

the  appointment  a  message  of  joy  even  to  the  weary 
wanderers  who  lived  in  the  veritable  booths,  which 
after  generations  were  to  make  a  feast  of  mimicking  ? 
How  firm  the  confidence  of  entering  the  land  must 
have  been,  which  promulgated  such  a  law !  It  would 
tend  to  hearten  the  fainting  courage  of  the  pilgrims. 
A  divinely  guaranteed  future  is  as  certain  as  the  past, 
and  the  wanderers  whom  He  guides  may  be  sure  of 
coming  to  the  settled  home.  All  words  which  He 
speaks  beforehand  concerning  that  rest  and  the  joy- 
ful worship  there  are  pledges  that  it  shall  one  day 
be  theirs.  The  present  use  of  the  prospective  law  was 
to  feed  faith  and  hearten  hope ;  and,  when  Canaan 
was  reached,  its  use  was  to  feed  memory  and  brighten 
godly  gladness. 

The  feast  of  tabernacles  was  the  consecration  of  joy. 
Other  religions  have  had  their  festivals,  in  which  wild 
tumult  and  foul  orgies  have  debased  the  worshippers  to 
the  level  of  their  gods.  How  different  the  pure  glad- 
ness of  this  feast  '  before  the  Lord ' !  No  coarse  and 
sensuous  delights  of  passion  could  live  before  the  '  pure 
eyes  and  perfect  witness'  of  God.  In  His  'presence' 
must  be  purity  as  well  as  'fullness  of  joy.'  If  this 
festival  teaches  us,  on  the  one  hand,  that  they  wofuUy 
misapprehend  the  spirit  of  godliness  who  do  not  find 
it  full  of  gladsomeness,  it  teaches  us  no  less,  on  the 
other,  that  they  wofuUy  misapprehend  the  spirit  of 
joy,  who  look  for  it  anywhere  but  '  before  the  Lord.' 
The  ritual  of  the  feast  commanded  gladness.  Joy  is 
a  duty  to  God's  children.  There  were  mourners  in 
Israel  each  year,  as  the  feast  came  round,  who  would 
rather  have  shrunk  into  a  corner,  and  let  the  bright 
stream  of  merriment  flow  past  them;  but  they,  too, 
had  to  open  their  heavy  hearts,  and  to  feel  that,  in 


266       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxiii. 

spite  of  their  private  sorrows,  they  had  a  share  in  the 
national  blessings.  No  grief  should  unfit  us  for  feeling 
thankful  joy  for  the  great  common  gift  of  '  a  common 
salvation.'  The  sources  of  religious  joy,  open  to  all 
Christians,  are  deeper  than  the  fountains  of  individual 
sorrow,  deep  as  life  though  these  sometimes  seem. 

The  wilderness  life  came  into  view  in  the  feast  as  a 
wandering  life  of  privation  and  change.  The  booths 
reminded  of  frail  and  shifting  dwellings,  and  so  made 
the  contrast  with  present  settled  homes  the  sweeter. 
They  were  built,  not  of  such  miserable  scrub  as  grew 
in  the  desert,  and  could  scarcely  throw  shade  enough 
to  screen  a  lizard,  but  of  the  well-foliaged  branches  of 
trees  grown  by  the  rivers  of  water,  and  so  indicated 
present  abundance.  The  remembrance  of  privations 
and  trials  past,  of  which  the  meaning  is  understood, 
and  the  happy  results  in  some  degree  possessed,  is  joy. 
Prosperous  men  like  to  talk  of  their  early  struggles 
and  poverty.  This  feast  teaches  that  such  remem- 
brance ought  always  to  trace  the  better  present  to 
God,  and  that  memory  of  conquered  sorrows  and 
trials  is  wholesome  only  when  it  is  devout,  and  that 
the  joy  of  present  ease  is  bracing,  not  when  it  is  self- 
sufficient,  but  when  it  is  thankful.  The  past,  rightly 
looked  at,  will  yield  for  us  all  materials  for  a  feast  of 
tabernacles  ;  and  it  is  rightly  looked  at  only  when  it  is 
all  seen  as  God's  work,  and  as  tending  to  settled  peace 
and  abundance.  Therefore  the  regulations  end  with 
that  emphatic  seal  of  all  His  commands,  to  impress 
which  on  our  hearts  is  the  purpose  of  all  His  dealings 
with  us  as  with  Israel,  '  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.' 

III.  We  may  note  our  Lord's  allusions  to  the  feast. 
There  are  probably  two,  both  referring  to  later  addi- 
tions to  the  ceremonies.    One  is  in  John  vii.  37.    We 


vs.  33-44]  THE  CONSECRATION  OF  JOY     267 

learn  from  the  Talmud  that  on  each  of  the  seven  days 
(and  according  to  one  Rabbi  on  the  eighth  also)  a 
priest  went  down  to  Siloam  and  drew  water  in  a  golden 
pitcher,  which  he  brought  back  amid  the  blare  of 
trumpets  to  the  altar,  and  poured  into  a  silver  basin 
while  the  joyous  worshippers  chanted  the  '  Great 
Hallel '  (Psa.  cxiii.-cxviii.),  and  thrice  waved  their  palm 
branches  as  they  sang.  We  may  venture  to  suppose 
that  this  had  been  done  for  the  last  time ;  that  the 
shout  of  song  had  scarcely  died  away  when  a  stir  in 
the  crowd  was  seen,  and  a  Galilean  peasant  stood 
forth,  and  there,  before  the  priests  with  their  empty 
vessels,  and  the  hushed  multitude,  lifted  up  His  voice, 
so  as  to  be  heard  by  all,  and  cried,  saying :  '  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me,  and  drink.'  What 
increased  force  is  given  to  the  extraordinary  self- 
assertion  of  such  words,  if  we  picture  this  as  the 
occasion  of  their  utterance!  Leviticus  gives  no  pre- 
eminence to  any  one  day,  but  John's  expression,  •  that 
great  day  of  the  feast,'  may  well  have  been  warranted 
by  later  developments. 

The  other  allusion  is  less  certain,  though  it  is  pro- 
bable. It  is  found  in  the  saying  at  John  viii.  12 :  '  I 
am  the  Light  of  the  world,'  etc.  The  Talmud  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  the  illuminations  accompanying 
the  feast.  Four  great  golden  lamps  were  set  up  in 
the  court,  each  tended  by  four  young  priests.  *  There 
was  not  a  court  in  Jerusalem  that  was  not  lit  up  by 
the  lights  of  the  water-drawing.'  Bands  of  grave  men 
with  flashing  torches  danced  before  the  people,  while 
Levites  '  accompanied  them  with  harps,  psalteries, 
cymbals,  and  numberless  musical  instruments,'  and 
another  band  of  Levites  standing  on  the  fifteen  steps 
which  led  to  the  women's  court,  chanted  the  fifteen 


268       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxiii. 

so-called  '  songs  of  degrees,'  and  yet  others  marched 
through  the  courts  blowing  their  trumpets  as  they 
went.  It  must  have  been  a  wild  scene,  dangerously 
approximating  to  the  excitement  of  heathen  nocturnal 
festivals,  and  our  Lord  may  well  have  sought  to  divert 
the  spectators  to  higher  thoughts.  But  the  existence 
of  the  allusion  is  doubtful. 

We  have  one  more  allusion  to  the  feast,  consi- 
dered as  a  prophecy  of  the  true  rest  and  joy  in  the 
true  Canaan.  The  same  John,  who  has  preserved 
Christ's  references,  gives  one  of  his  own  in  Revelation 
vii.  9,  when  he  shows  us  the  great  multitude  out  of 
every  nation  '  with  palms  in  their  hands.'  These  are 
not  the  Gentile  emblems  of  victory,  as  they  are  often 
taken  to  be.  There  are  no  heathen  emblems  in  the 
Apocalypse,  but  all  moved  within  the  circle  of  Jewish 
types  and  figures.  So  we  are  to  think  of  that  crowd 
of  'happy  palmers'  as  joyously  celebrating  the  true 
feast  of  tabernacles  in  the  settled  home  above,  and 
remembering,  with  eyes  made  clear  by  heaven,  the 
struggles  and  fleeting  sorrows  of  the  wilderness.  The 
emblem  sets  forth  heaven  as  a  festal  assembly,  as  the 
ingathering  of  the  results  of  the  toils  of  earth,  as 
settled  life  after  weary  pilgrimage,  as  glad  retrospect 
of  the  meaning  and  triumphant  possession  of  the 
issues  of  God's  patient  guidance  and  wise  discipline. 
Here  we  dwell  in  'the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle'; 
there,  in  a  '  building  of  God  .  .  .  eternal.'  Here  we 
are  agitated  by  change,  and  wearied  by  the  long  road ; 
there,  changeless  but  increasing  joy  will  be  ours,  and 
the  backward  look  of  thankful  wonder  will  enhance  the 
sweetness  of  the  blessed  present,  and  confirm  the  calm 
and  sure  hope  of  an  ever-growing  glory  stretching 
shoreless  and  brigrht  before  us. 


SOJOURNERS  WITH  GOD 

'The  land  shall  not  be  sold  for  ever :  for  the  land  is  Mine ;  for  ye  are  strangers 
and  sojourners  with  Me.'— Lev.  xxv.  23. 

The  singular  institution  of  the  Jubilee  year  had  more 
than  one  purpose.  As  a  social  and  economical  arrange- 
ment it  tended  to  prevent  the  extremes  of  wealth  and 
poverty.  Every  fiftieth  year  the  land  v^as  to  revert  to 
its  original  owners,  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  who 
had  *  come  in  with  the  conqueror,'  Joshua.  Debts  were 
to  be  remitted,  slaves  emancipated,  and  so  the  moun- 
tains of  wealth  and  the  valleys  of  poverty  were  to  be 
somewhat  levelled,  and  the  nation  carried  back  to  its 
original  framework  of  a  simple  agricultural  community 
of  small  owners,  each  '  sitting  under  his  own  vine  and 
fig-tree '  and,  like  Naboth,  sturdily  holding  the  paternal 
acres. 

As  a  ceremonial  institution  it  was  the  completion  of 
the  law  of  the  Sabbath.  The  seventh  day  proclaimed 
the  need  for  weekly  rest  from  labour,  and  as  was  the 
sabbath  in  the  week,  so  was  the  seventh  year  among 
the  years — a  time  of  quiet,  when  the  land  lay  fallow 
and  much  of  the  ordinary  labour  was  suspended.  Nor 
were  these  all ;  when  seven  weeks  of  years  had  passed, 
came  the  great  Jubilee  year,  charged  with  the  same 
blessed  message  of  Rest,  and  doubtless  showing  dimly 
to  many  wearied  and  tearful  eyes  some  gleams  of  a 
better  repose  beyond. 

Besides  these  purposes,  it  was  appointed  to  enforce, 
and  to  make  the  whole  fabric  of  the  national  wealth 
consciously  rest  upon,  this  thought  contained  in  our 
text.  The  reason  why  the  land  was  not  to  pass  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  representatives  of  those  to  whom  God 


270         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

had  originally  given  it,  was  that  He  had  not  really 
given  it  to  them  at  all.  It  was  not  theirs  to  sell — they 
had  only  a  beneficiary  occupation.  While  they  held  it, 
it  was  still  His,  and  neither  they,  nor  any  one  to  whom 
they  might  sell  the  use  of  it  for  a  time,  were  anything 
more  than  tenants  at  will.  The  land  was  His,  and  they 
were  only  like  a  band  of  wanderers,  squatting  for  a 
while  by  permission  of  the  owner,  on  his  estate.  Their 
camp-fires  were  here  to-day,  but  to-morrow  they 
would  be  gone.  They  were  '  strangers  and  sojourners.' 
That  may  sound  sad,  but  all  the  sadness  goes  when  we 
read  on — '  with  Me.'  They  are  God's  guests,  so  though 
they  do  not  own  a  foot  of  soil,  they  need  not  fear 
want. 

All  this  is  as  true  for  us.  We  can  have  no  better 
New  Year's  thoughts  than  those  which  were  taught  by 
the  blast  of  the  silver  trumpets  that  proclaimed  liberty 
to  the  slaves,  and  restored  to  the  landless  pauper  his 
alienated  heritage. 

I.  Here  is  the  lesson  of  God's  proprietorship  and  our 
stewardship. 

'The  land  is  Mine'  was  of  course  true  in  a  special 
sense  of  the  territory  which  God  gave  by  promise  and 
miracle,  which  was  kept  by  obedience,  and  lost  by 
rebellion.  But  it  is  as  really  true  about  our  posses- 
sions, and  that  not  only  because  of  our  transient  stay 
here.  It  would  be  as  true  if  we  were  to  live  in  this 
world  for  ever.  It  will  be  as  true  in  heaven.  Length 
of  time  makes  no  difference  in  this  tenure.  Undis- 
turbed possession  for  ever  so  long  does  not  constitute 
ownership  here.  God  is  possessor  of  all,  by  virtue  of 
His  very  nature,  by  His  creation  and  preservation  of 
us  and  of  all  things.  So  that  when  we  talk  about 
•  mine '  and  •  thine,'  we  are  only  speaking  a  half  truth. 


V.23]         SOJOURNERS  WITH  GOD  271 

There  is  a  great  sovereign  '  His '  behind  both.  So  then 
let  us  take  that  thought  with  us  for  use,  as  we  pass 
into  another  year.    What  lessons  does  it  give  ? 

It  should  nurture  constant  thankfulness.  To-day 
looking  back  over  whatever  dark,  dreary,  sunless  days, 
we  all  have  bright  ones  too.  Does  any  thought  of  God 
as  the  Fountain  of  all  our  joys  and  goods  rise  in  our 
souls?  Have  we  learned  to  associate  a  divine  hand 
and  a  Father's  will  with  them  ?  Do  we  congratulate 
ourselves  on  our  own  cleverness,  tact,  and  skill,  saying, 

*  mine  hand  hath  done  it,'  or  do  we  hug  ourselves  on 
our  own  good  fortune,  and  burn  incense  to  chance  and 

*  circumstances '  ? — or,  sadder  still,  are  we  generously 
grateful  to  every  human  friend  that  helps  us,  and  un- 
thankful only  to  God — or  does  the  glad  thought  come, 
to  gild  the  finest  gold  of  our  possessions  with  new 
brilliance  and  worth,  and  to  paint  and  perfume  the 
whitest  lily  of  our  joys  with  new  delightsomeness,  *  All 
things  come  of  Thee ' ;  '  Thou  makest  us  drink  of  the 
river  of  Thy  pleasures '  ?  Blessed  are  they  who,  by  the 
magic  glass  of  a  thankful  heart,  see  all  things  in  God, 
and  God  in  all  things.  To  them  life  is  tenfold  brighter, 
as  a  light  plunged  in  oxygen  flames  more  intensely 
than  in  common  air.  The  darkest  night  is  filled  with 
light,  and  the  loneliest  place  blazes  with  angel  faces, 
and  the  stoniest  pillar  is  soft,  to  him  who  sees  every- 
where the  ladder  that  knits  earth  with  heaven,  and  to 
whom  all  His  blessings  are  as  the  messengers  that 
descend  by  it  on  errands  of  mercy,  whose  long  shining 
ranks  lead  up  the  eye  and  the  heart  to  the  loving  God 
from  whom  they  come. 

Here  too  is  the  ground  for  constant  thankful  sub- 
mission. '  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away.'    We  have  no  right  to  murmur,  however  we  may 


272         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

regret,  if  the  Landowner  takes  back  a  bit  of  the  land 
which  He  has  let  us  occupy.  It  was  the  condition  of 
our  occupation  that  He  should  be  at  liberty  to  do  so 
whenever  He  saw  that  it  would  be  best  for  us.  He  does 
not  give  us  our  little  patches  for  His  advantage,  but 
for  ours,  nor  does  He  take  them  away  at  His  own  whim, 
but '  for  our  profit.'  We  get  more  than  full  value  for  all 
the  work  and  capital  we  have  expended,  and  His  only 
reason  for  ever  disturbing  us  is  that  we  may  be  driven 
to  claim  a  better  inheritance  in  Himself  than  we  can 
find  even  in  the  best  of  His  gifts.  So  He  sometimes 
gives,  that  we  may  be  led  by  our  possessions  to  think 
lovingly  of  Him;  and  He  sometimes  takes,  that  we 
may  be  led,  in  the  hour  of  emptiness  and  loss,  to  recog- 
nise whose  hand  it  was  that  pulled  up  the  props  round 
which  our  poor  tendrils  clung.  But  the  opposite 
actions  have  the  same  purpose,  and  like  the  up-and- 
down  stroke  of  a  piston,  or  the  contrary  motion  of  two 
cogged  wheels  that  play  into  each  other,  are  meant  to 
impel  us  in  one  direction,  even  to  the  heart  of  God 
who  is  our  home.  A  landowner  stops  up  a  private 
road  one  day  in  a  year,  in  order  to  assert  his  right,  and 
to  remind  the  neighbourhood  that  he  could  stop  it 
altogether  if  he  liked.  So  God  reminds  us  by  our 
losses  and  sorrows,  of  what  we  are  so  apt  to  forget, 
and  what  it  is  such  a  joy  to  us  to  remember — His  pos- 
session of  them  all.  Blessed  be  God !  He  teaches  us  in 
that  fashion  far  seldomer  than  in  the  other.  Let  joy 
teach  us  the  lesson,  and  we  shall  the  less  need  '  the 
sternest '  teacher  '  and  the  best,'  even  sorrow.  Better 
to  learn  it  by  gladness  than  by  tears ;  better  to  see  it 
written  in  *  laughing  flowers '  than  in  desolate  gardens 
and  killing  frost. 

So,  too,  there  should  be  a  constant  sense  of  responsi- 


V.23]  SOJOURNERS  WITH  GOD  273 

bility  in  the  use  of  all  which  we  have.  All  is  His,  and 
He  has  given  all  to  us,  for  a  purpose.  So,  plainly,  we 
are  but  stewards,  or  trustees,  and  are  bound  to  employ 
everything,  not  according  to  our  own  inclination  or 
notion  of  what  is  right,  but  according  to  what,  in  the 
exercise  of  our  best  and  most  impartial  judgment,  we 
believe  to  be  the  owner's  will.  Trusteeship  means  that 
we  take  directions  as  to  the  employment  of  the  property 
from  its  owner.  It  means  too  that  we  employ  it  not 
for  our  own  satisfaction  and  well-being  alone,  though 
that  is  included,  and  is  a  part  of  His  purpose  who 
*  delights  in  the  prosperity  of  His  servants.'  Thoughts 
of  others,  thoughts  of  the  owner's  claims,  and  of  bring- 
ing back  to  Him  all  that  He  has  given  to  us,  increased 
by  our  diligence,  must  be  uppermost  in  our  minds,  if 
we  are  to  live  nobly  or  happily  here.  *It  is  required 
in  stewards  that  a  man  be  found  faithful.'  And  this 
applies  to  all  we  have  in  mind,  body,  and  estate.  A 
thoughtful  expenditure  and  use  of  all  His  gifts,  on 
principles  drawn  from  our  knowledge  of  His  will,  and 
for  objects  not  terminating  with  self,  is  the  duty  that 
corresponds  to  the  great  fact  of  God's  ownership  of  all. 
If  we  use  His  gifts  to  minister  to  our  own  vanity  or 
frivolity,  or  love  of  ease,  or  display ;  if  an  '  intolerable 
deal '  of  all  we  have  is  used  for  ourselves,  and  a  poor 
'  ha'porth '  for  others ;  if  our  gifts  are  grudging ;  if  we 
possess  without  sense  of  responsibility,  and  enjoy 
without  thankfulness,  and  lose  with  murmuring;  if 
our  hearts  are  more  set  on  material  prosperity  than 
on  love  and  peace,  knowledge  and  purity,  noble  lives 
and  a  Father  God ;  if  higher  desires  and  hopes  are 
dying  out  as  we  'get  on'  in  the  world,  and  religious 
occupations  which  used  to  be  pleasant  are  stale ;  then 
for  all  our  outward  Christianity  the  stern  old  woe 

s 


274         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

applies,  'Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  the  rust  of 
them  shall  be  a  witness  against  you,'  and  we  need  the 
shrill  note  of  the  trumpet  of  Jubilee  to  be  blown  in 
our  ears,  '  The  land  is  Mine.' 

II.  We  have  the  teaching  of  the  transiency  of  our 
stay  here. 

•  Ye  are  strangers  and  sojourners ' — pilgrims  who 
make  a  brief  halt  in  a  foreign  country.  The  image 
has  in  it  an  allusion  to  the  nomad  life  of  Abraham  and 
his  son  and  grandson,  as  well  as  to  the  desert- wander- 
ings of  the  people,  and  suggests  the  thought,  '  You  are 
homeless  wanderers,  not  having  where  to  lay  your 
heads,  as  truly  when  you  have  been  settled  for  genera- 
tions on  your  ancestral  lands,  as  when  you  plodded 
wearily  in  the  wilderness.'  It  is  a  universal  truth,  ever 
acknowledged  and  forgotten,  wholesome  though  some- 
times sad  to  feel,  and  preached  to  even  frivolous  natures 
by  the  change  in  our  calendar  which  a  New  Year  brings. 

How  vividly  this  word  of  our  text  brings  out  the 
contrast  between  the  permanence  of  the  external 
world  and  our  brief  stay  in  it ! 

In  Israel  there  would  be  few  vineyards  or  olive- 
grounds  held  by  the  same  man  at  two,  and  none  at 
three,  successive  jubilees.  The  hoary  twisted  olives 
yielded  their  black  berries,  say,  to  Simeon,  the  son  of 
Joseph,  to-day,  as  they  did  fifty  years  ago  to  Joseph, 
the  son  of  Reuben,  and  as  they  will  do  fifty  years  hence 
to  Judas,  the  son  of  Simeon.  So  is  it  with  us  all.  There 
is  nothing  more  pathetic  than  the  thought  of  how 
generations  come  and  go,  and  empires  rise  and  fall, 
while  the  scene  on  which  they  play  their  brief  parts 
remains  the  same. 

'  The  mountains  look  on  Marathon, 
And  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea,' 


V.23]         SOJOURNERS  WITH  GOD  275 

to-day  as  they  did  more  than  two  millenniums  ago, 
only  the  grass  was  for  a  while  a  little  ranker  on  the 
plain.  Olivet  lifts  the  same  outline  against  the  pale 
morning  twilight  as  when  David  went  up  its  slope  a 
weeping  exile.  The  pebble  that  we  kick  out  of  our 
path  had  thousands  of  years  of  existence  ere  we  were 
born,  and  may  lie  there  unaltered  to  all  appearance  for 
centuries  after  we  are  dead.  '  One  generation  cometh 
and  another  goeth,  but  thp  earth  abideth  for  ever.' 

And  how  much  more  lasting  our  possessions  are  than 
their  possessors!  Where  are  the  strong  hands  that 
clutched  the  rude  weapons  that  lie  now  quietly  ticketed 
in  our  museums  ?  How  dim  and  dark  the  bright  brave 
eyes  that  once  flashed  through  the  bars  of  these 
helmets,  hanging  just  a  little  rusted,  over  the  tombs 
in  Westminster  Abbey !  Other  men  will  live  in  our 
houses,  read  our  books,  own  our  mills,  use  our  furni- 
ture, preach  in  our  pulpits,  sit  in  our  pews :  we  are  but 
lodgers  in  this  abiding  nature,  '  like  a  wayfaring  man 
that  turneth  aside  to  tarry  for  a  night,'  and  to-morrow 
morning  vacates  his  rooms  for  a  new  arrival,  and  goes 
away  unregretted  and  is  forgotten  in  an  hour. 

The  constant  change  and  progression  of  life  are 
enforced,  too,  in  this  metaphor. 

The  old  threadbare  emblem  of  a  journey  which  is  im- 
plied in  the  text  suggests  how,  moment  by  moment,  we 
hurry  on  and  how  everything  is  slipping  past  us,  as  fields 
and  towns  do  to  a  traveller  in  a  train.  Only  our  journey 
is  smooth  and  noiseless,  like  the  old-fashioned  canal- 
boat  travelling,  where,  if  you  shut  your  eyes,  you  could 
not  tell  that  you  were  moving.  We  glide  on  and  never 
know  it,  and  so  gradually  and  silently  is  the  scene 
•  changed  by  still  degrees,'  that  it  is  only  now  and  then 
that  men  have  any  vivid  consciousness  that  the  *  fashion 


276         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

of  this  world  is '  ever  '  in  the  act  of  passing,'  like  the 
canvas  of  a  panorama  ever  winding  and  unwinding  on 
its  twin  rollers  with  slow,  equable  motion.  It  needs  an 
effort  of  attention  and  will  to  discern  the  movement, 
and  it  is  worth  while  to  make  the  effort,  for  that  clear 
and  poignant  sense  of  the  constant  flux  and  mutation 
of  all  things  around  us,  and  of  the  ebbing  away  of  our 
own  lives,  is  fundamental  to  all  elevation  of  thought, 
to  all  nobleness  of  deed,  to  all  worthy  conception  of 
duty  and  of  joy.  Everything  that  is,  stands  poised, 
like  Fortune,  on  a  rolling  ball.  The  solid  earth  is  a 
movable  sphere,  for  ever  spinning  on  its  axis  and 
rushing  on  its  path  among  the  stars.  Ever  some  star 
is  sinking  in  mist,  or  dipping  below  the  horizon ;  ever 
new  constellations  are  climbing  to  the  zenith.  A  long, 
patient  discipline  is  needed  to  keep  fresh  in  our  hearts 
the  sense  of  this  transiency.  Let  us  set  ourselves  con- 
sciously to  deepen  our  convictions  of  it,  and  amidst  all 
the  illusions  of  these  solid-seeming  shows  of  things, 
keep  firm  hold  of  the  assurance  that  they  are  but  fleet- 
ing shadows  that  sweep  across  the  solemn  mountain's 
side,  and  that  only  God  and  the  doing  of  His  will  lasts. 
So  shall  our  life  pierce  down  witn  its  seeking  roots  to 
the  abiding  ground  of  all  Being,  and,  looking  to  the 
•things  that  are  eternal,'  we  shall  be  able  to  make 
what  is  but  for  a  moment  contribute  to  the  everlasting 
ennobling  of  our  character  and  enrichment  of  our  life 
yonder. 

Surely  these  words,  too,  tell  of  the  true  home. 

'Ye  are  strangers' — because  your  native  land  is  else- 
where. It  is  not  merely  the  physical  facts  of  death 
and  change  that  make  us  strangers  here,  but  the  direc- 
tion of  our  desires,  and  the  true  affinities  of  our  nature. 
If  by  these  we  belong  to  heaven  and  God,  then  here  we 


V.  23]         SOJOURNERS  WITH  GOD  277 

shall  feel  that  we  have  not  where  to  lay  our  heads, 
and  shall  *  dwell  in  tabernacles '  because  *  we  look  for 
the  city.' 

What  a  contrast  between  the  perishable  tents  of  the 
wilderness  and  the  rock-built  mansions  of  that  city! 
And  how  short  this  phase  of  being  must  look  when  seen 
from  above !  You  remember  how  long  a  year,  a  week, 
seemed  to  you  when  a  child — what  do  the  first  ten 
years  of  your  life  look  to  you  now  ?  What  must  the 
earthly  life  of  Abel,  the  first  who  died,  look  to  him 
even  now,  when  he  contrasts  its  short  twenty  or 
thirty  years  with  the  thousands  since  ?  and,  after 
thousands  and  thousands  more,  how  it  will  dwindle ! 
So  to  us,  if  we  reach  that  safe  shore,  and  look  back 
upon  the  sea  that  brought  us  thither,  as  it  stretches  to 
the  horizon,  miles  of  billows  once  so  terrible  will  seem 
shrunken  to  a  line  of  white  foam. 

Cherish,  then,  constant  consciousness  of  that  solemn 
eternity,  and  let  your  eyes  be  ever  directed  to  it,  like  a 
man  who  sees  some  great  flush  of  light  on  the  horizon, 
and  is  ever  turning  from  his  work  to  look.  Use  the 
transient  as  preparation  for  the  eternal,  the  fleeting 
days  as  those  which  determine  the  undying '  Day'  and  its 
character.  Keep  your  cares  and  interests  in  the  present 
rigidly  limited  to  necessary  things.  Why  should 
travellers  burden  themselves?  The  less  luggage,  the 
easier  marching.  The  accommodation  and  equipment 
in  the  desert  do  not  matter  much.  The  wise  man  will 
say,  '  Oh,  it  will  do.  I  shall  soon  be  home.'  ♦  Ye  are 
strangers  and  sojourners.' 

III.  We  have  here  also  the  teaching  of  trust. 

Some  of  us  think  that  such  thoughts  as  the  preceding 
are  sad.  Why  should  they  be  so  ?  They  need  not  be.  Our 
text  adds  a  little  word  which  takes  all  the  sadness  out 


278         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

of  them.  '  With  Me ' ;  that  gives  the  true  notion  of  our 
earthly  life.  We  are  strangers  indeed,  passing  through  a 
country  which  is  not  ours,  but  whilst  we  are  sojourners, 
we  are  *  sojourners '  with  the  king  of  the  land.  In  the 
antique  hospitable  times,  the  chief  of  the  tribe  would 
take  the  travellers  to  his  own  tent,  and  charge  himself 
with  their  safety  and  comfort.  So  we  are  God's  guests 
on  our  travels.  He  will  take  care  of  us.  The  visitor 
has  no  need  to  trouble  himself  about  the  housekeeping, 
he  may  safely  leave  that  with  the  master  of  the  house. 
If  the  king  has  taken  us  in  charge,  we  may  be  quite 
sure  that  no  harm  will  come  to  us  in  his  country.  So 
for  ourselves  and  for  those  we  love,  and  for  all  the  wide 
interests  of  church  and  world,  there  are  peace  and 
strength  in  the  thought  that  we  are  the  guests  of  God 
here,  '  strangers  and  sojourners  with  Him.'  Will  He 
invite  us  to  His  table  and  let  us  hunger  ?  Will  He  call 
us  to  be  His  guests,  and  then,  like  some  traitorous 
Arab  sheikh,  break  the  laws  of  hospitality  and  harm 
His  too-confiding  guests  ?  Impossible  for  evermore. 
So  we  are  safe,  and  our  bread  shall  be  given  us,  for  we 
are  sojourners  with  God. 

True,  we  are  strangers,  and  in  our  constant  move- 
ment we  lose  many  of  the  companions  of  our  march, 
and  the  track  of  the  caravan  may  be  traced  by  the 
graves  on  either  side.  But,  since  we  are  *  with  Him,' 
we  have  companionship  even  when  most  solitary,  and 
even  in  a  strange  land  shall  not  be  lonely.  Seek  then  to 
cultivate  as  a  joy  and  strength  that  consciousness  that 
the  Lord  of  all  the  land  is  ever  with  you.  Whoever 
goes.  He  abides.  Whatever  rushes  past  us  like  a 
phantasmagoria.  He  passes  not.  Whatever  and  who- 
ever change.  He  changes  never.  Where  thou  goest.  He 
will  go.     He  will  be  ♦  thy  shield  at  thy  right  hand,'  and 


V.23]  GOD'S  SLAVES  279 

thy  '  keeper  from  all  evil.'  So,  looking  forward  to  the 
unknown  days  of  another  New  Year,  we  may  be  of 
good  cheer. 

So  will  it  be  while  we  live  ;  and  if  this  year  we  should 
die — well,  the  King  of  this  land,  where  we  are  strangers, 
is  the  King  of  the  other  land  beyond  the  sea,  where  we 
are  at  home.  So  we  shall  only  be  the  nearer  to  Him 
for  the  change.  Death  the  separator  shall  but  unite  us 
to  the  King,  whose  presence  indeed  fills  this  subject- 
province  of  His  empire  "with  all  its  good,  but  who 
dwells  in  more  resplendent  '  beauty,'  and  is  felt  in 
greater  nearness  in  the  other  '  land  that  is  very  far  off.' 
Whether  here  or  there,  we  may  have  God  with  us,  if 
we  will.  With  Him  for  our  Host  and  companion,  let 
us  peacefully  go  on  our  road,  while  the  life  of  strangers 
and  sojourners  shall  last.  It  will  bring  us  to  the 
fatherland  where  we  shall  be  at  home  with  the  King, 
and  find  in  Him  our  *  sure  dwelling,  and  quiet  resting- 
place,  and  peaceful  habitation  for  ever.' 


GOD'S  SLAVES 

'For  they  are  My  servants,  which  I  brought  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt; 
they  shall  not  be  sold  as  bondmen.'— Lev.  xxv.  42. 

This  is  the  basis  of  the  Mosaic  legislation  as  to  slavery. 
It  did  not  suppress  but  regulated  that  accursed  system. 
Certainly  Hebrew  slavery  was  a  very  different  thing 
from  that  of  other  nations.  In  the  first  place,  no  Jew 
was  to  be  a  slave.  To  that  broad  principle  there  were 
exceptions,  such  as  the  case  of  the  man  who  volun- 
tarily gave  himself  up  to  his  creditor.  But  even  he 
was  not  to  be  treated  as  a  slave,  but  as  a  'hired 
servant,'  and  at  the  jubilee  was  to  be  set  free.    There 


280         THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxv. 

were  also  other  regulations  of  various  kinds  in  other 
circumstances  on  which  we  do  not  need  to  dwell.  The 
slaves  of  alien  blood  were  owned  and  used,  but  under 
great  mitigations  and  restrictions. 

Of  course  we  have  here  an  instance  of  the  incom- 
pleteness of  the  Mosaic  law, — or  rather  we  may  more 
truly  say  of  its  completeness,  regard  being  had  to  the 
state  of  the  world  at  the  time.  All  social  change 
hangs  together.  Institutions  cannot  be  altered  at  a 
blow,  without  altering  the  stage  of  civilisation,  of 
which  they  are  the  expression.  '  Raw  haste '  is  *  half- 
sister  to  delay.'  What  is  good  and  necessary  for  one 
era  is  out  of  place  in  another.  So  God  works  slowly, 
and  lets  bad  things  die  out,  by  changing  the  atmosphere 
in  which  they  flourish. 

All  servitude  to  men  was  an  infraction  of  God's  rights 
over  Israel.  God  was  the  Israelites'  'Master*;  they 
were  His  '  slaves.'  He  was  so,  because  He  had  '  broken 
the  bands  of  their  yoke,  and  set  them  free.'  There  is, 
then,  here — 

I.  The  ground  of  God's  rights.     '  I  brought  you  forth.' 

II.  Our  servitude  because  of  our  redemption.  'Ye 
are  My  servants.' 

III.  Our  consequent  freedom  from  all  other  masters. 
•  Ye  shall  not  be  sold  as  bondmen.* 


THE  KINSMAN  REDEEMER 

'After  that  he  is  sold  he  may  be  redeemed  again;  one  of  bis  brethren  may 
redeem  him.'— Lev.  xxv.  48. 

There  are  several  of  the  institutions  and  precepts  of 
the  Mosaic  legislation  which,  though  not  prophetic, 
nor   typical,    have  yet    remarkable    correspondences 


V.48]       THE  KINSMAN  REDEEMER        281 

with  lofty  Christian  truth.  They  may  be  used  as 
symbols,  if  only  we  remember  that  we  are  diverting 
them  from  their  original  purpose. 

How  singularly  these  words  lend  themselves  to  the 
statement  of  the  very  central  truths  of  Christianity — 
a  slavery  which  is  not  necessarily  perpetual  and  a 
redemption  effected  by  a  kinsman ! 

That  institution  of  the  '  Goel '  is  of  a  very  remarkable 
kind,  and  throws  great  light  on  Christian  verities.  I 
wish,  in  dealing  with  it,  'to  guard  against  any  idea  that 
it  was  meant  to  be  prophetic  or  typical. 

I.  The  kinsman  redeemer  under  the  old  law. 

The  strength  of  the  family  tie  in  the  Israelitish  polity 
was  great.  The  family  was  the  unit — hence  there  were 
certain  duties  devolving  on  the  nearest  male  relative. 
These,  so  far  as  we  are  at  present  concerned,  were 
three. 

(a)  The  redemption  of  a  slave.  The  Mosaic  legisla- 
tion about  slavery  was  very  remarkable.  It  did  not 
nominally  prohibit  it,  but  it  fenced  it  round  and 
modified  it,  so  as  to  make  it  another  thing. 

Israelites  were  allowed  to  hold  Gentile  slaves,  but 
under  careful  restrictions.  Israelites  were  allowed  to 
sell  themselves  as  slaves.  If  the  sale  was  to  Israelites, 
the  slavery  was  ended  in  six  years  or  at  the  jubilee, 
whichever  period  came  first — unless  the  slave  had  his 
ear  bored  to  the  doorpost  to  intimate  his  contentment 
in  service  (Exod.  xxi.  5,  6).  This  is  not  slavery  in  our 
sense  of  the  word,  but  only  a  six  years'  engagement. 
If  sold  to  a  heathen  in  Israel,  then  the  Goel  had  to 
redeem  him ;  and  the  reason  for  this  was  that  all 
Israelites  belonged  to  God. 

(6)  The  redemption  of  an  inheritance. 

This  was  the  task  of  the  kinsman-goel.     The  land 


282        THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.  xxv. 

belonged  to  the  tribe.  Pauperism  was  thus  kept  off. 
There  could  be  no  '  submerged  tenth.'  The  theocratic 
reason  was, '  the  land  shall  not  be  sold  at  all  for  ever, 
for  it  is  Mine ! ' 

(c)  The  avenging  of  murder.  Blood  feuds  were  thus 
checked,  though  not  abolished.  The  remarkable 
institution  of  '  cities  of  refuge '  gave  opportunity 
for  deliberate  investigation  into  each  case.  If  wilful 
murder  was  proved,  the  murderer  was  given  up  to 
the  Goel  for  retribution ;  if  death  had  been  by  mis- 
adventure, the  slayer  was  kept  in  the  city  of  refuge 
till  the  high-priest's  decease. 

This  is  the  germ  of  the  figure  of  the  Redeemer- 
Kinsman  in  later  Scripture.  Notice  how  higher  ideas 
began  to  gather  round  the  office.  The  prophets  felt 
that  in  some  way  God  was  their  '  Goel.'  In  Isaiah 
the  application  of  the  name  to  Him  is  frequent  and, 
we  might  almost  say,  habitual.  So  in  Psalm  xlix.  7, 
•  None  can  be  Goel  to  his  brother ' ;  verse  15,  '  God  will 
be  Goel  to  my  soul  from  the  power  of  the  grave.' 

Job  xix.  25,  *  I  know  that  my  Goel  liveth.  .  .  .* 

II.  Our  Kinsman-Redeemer. 

The  New  Testament  metaphor  of  'Redemption'  or 
buying  back  with  a  ransom  is  distinctly  drawn  from 
the  Hebrew  Goel's  office. 

Christ  is  the  Kinsman.  The  brotherhood  of  Christ 
with  us  was  voluntarily  assumed,  and  was  for  the 
purpose  of  redeeming  His  brethren. 

He  is  the  Kinsman-Redeemer  from  slavery, — a 
slavery  which  is  voluntary.  The  soul  is  self-delivered 
to  evil  and  sin ;  but  blessed  be  God !  this  slavery  is 
terminable.  The  kinship  of  Christ  was  needful  for 
our  redemption.  *  It  behoved  Him  to  be  made  like 
unto  His  brethren.'    He  thus  gave  His  life  a  '  ransom ' 


V.  48]       THE  KINSMAN  REDEEMER        283 

for  many.  Note  the  objective  value  of  His  atonement, 
and  its  subjective  power  as  setting  us  free. 

He  is  the  Kinsman-Redeemer  of  our  inheritance.  God 
is  the  inheritance  here.  The  manhood  of  Jesus  brings 
God  back  to  us  for  our — (1)  Knowledge ;  (2)  Love ; 
(3)  Possession.  Heaven  is  our  inheritance  hereafter. 
His  manhood  secures  it  for  us.  *  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you.'  '  An  inheritance  incorruptible.'  *  The 
redemption  of  the  purchased  possession.' 

The  Kinsman-Avenger  of  blood.  It  is  only  in  a 
modified  sense  that  we  can  transfer  this  part  of  the 
Goel's  office  to  Jesus.  The  old  Kinsman-Avenger  of 
blood  avenged  it  by  shedding  the  shedder's  blood  in 
retribution.  But  that  was  not  the  kind  of  vindication 
(for  Goel  means  also  Vindicator)  for  which  Job  looked 
when  he  used  the  expression.  Resurrection  to  the 
vision  of  God  was  to  come  to  him  '  at  the  last,'  by  the 
standing  of  his  Goel  on  the  earth,  and  that  was  to  be 
the  true  avenging  of  his  death,  and  his  vindication. 
The  great  murderer  Death  is  to  die,  and  his  victims  are 
to  be  wrested  from  him,  and  their  death  be  proved  to 
be  the  means  of  their  fuller  life.  *  Precious  shall  their 
blood  be  in  His  sight,'  and  when  their  slayer  is  slain 
they  will  live  for  ever,  partakers  of  their  Kinsman- 
Redeemer's  glory,  because  they  had  been  partakers  of 
His  death,  and  His  blood  had  been  precious  in  their 
sight.  Let  us  cling  to  our  Kinsman-Redeemer  in  all  our 
life  that  He  may  give  us  freedom  and  an  inheritance 
among  His  brethren,  and,  closing  our  eyes  in  death,  we 
may  commend  our  spirits  to  the  '  Angel  that  redeemed 
us  from  all  evil,'  and  be  sure  that  He  will  *  redeem '  our 
•  souls  from  the  power  of  the  grave.' 


THE  OLD  STORE  AND  THE  NEW 

*Te  shall  eat  old  store,  and  bring  forth  the  old  because  of  the  new.' 

Lev.  xxvl.  10. 

This  is  one  of  the  blessings  promised  to  obedience.  No 
doubt  it,  like  the  other  elements  of  that  'prosperity' 
which  'is  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testament,'  pre- 
supposes a  supernatural  order  of  things,  in  which 
material  well-being  was  connected  with  moral  good  far 
more  closely  and  certainly  than  we  see  to  be  the  case. 
But  the  spirit  and  heart  of  the  promise  remain,  how- 
ever the  form  of  it  may  have  passed  away.  It  is  a 
picturesque  way  of  saying  that  the  harvest  shall  be  more 
than  enough  for  the  people's  wants.  All  through  the 
winter,  and  the  spring,  and  the  ripening  summer,  their 
granaries  shall  yield  supplies.  There  will  be  no  season 
of  scarcity  such  as  often  occurs  in  countries  whose 
communications  are  imperfect,  just  before  harvest, 
when  the  last  year's  crop  is  exhausted,  and  it  is  hard  to 
get  anything  to  live  on  till  this  year's  is  ready.  But 
when  the  new  wheat  comes  in  they  will  have  still 
much  of  the  old,  and  will  have  to  'bring  it  forth'  to 
empty  their  barns,  to  make  room  for  the  fresh  supplies 
which  the  blessing  of  God  has  sent  before  they  were 
needed.  The  same  idea  of  superabundant  yield  from 
the  fields  is  given  under  another  form  in  a  previous 
verse  of  this  chapter  (ver.  5):  'Your  threshing  shall 
reach  unto  the  vintage,  and  the  vintage  shall  reach 
unto  the  sowing  time,  and  ye  shall  eat  your  bread  to 
the  full ' :  which  reminds  one  of  the  striking  prophecy 
of  Amos :  '  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  the  plowman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the 


v.io]  THE  OLD  STORE  AND  THE  NEW  285 

treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed.'  So  rapid  the 
growth,  and  so  large  the  fruitf ulness,  that  the  gatherer 
shall  follow  close  on  the  heels  of  the  sower,  and  will 
not  have  accomplished  his  task  before  it  is  again  time 
to  sow.  The  prophet  clearly  has  in  his  mind  the  old 
promise  of  the  law,  and  applies  it  to  higher  matters, 
even  to  the  fields  white  to  harvest,  where  '  he  that 
soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  shall  rejoice  together.'  In 
the  same  way  we  may  take  these  words,  and  gather 
from  them  better  promises  and  larger  thoughts  than 
they  originally  carried. 

There  is  in  them  a  promise  as  to  the  fullness  of  the 
divine  gifts,  which  has  a  far  wider  reach  and  nobler 
application  than  to  the  harvests  and  granaries  of  old 
Palestine. 

We  may  take  the  words  in  that  aspect,  first,  as  con- 
taining God's  pledge  that  these  outward  gifts  shall 
come  in  unbroken  continuity.  And  have  they  not  so 
come  to  us  all,  for  all  these  long  years?  Has  there 
ever  been  a  gap  left  yawning  ?  has  there  ever  been  a 
break  in  the  chain  of  mercies  and  supplies  ?  has  it  not 
rather  been  that  '  one  post  ran  to  meet  another,'  that 
before  one  of  the  messengers  had  unladed  all  his 
budget,  another's  arrival  has  antiquated  and  put  aside 
his  store  ?  True,  we  are  often  brought  very  low ;  there 
may  not  be  much  in  the  barn  but  sweepings,  and  a  few 
stray  grains  scattered  over  the  floor.  We  may  have  but 
a  handful  of  meal  in  the  barrel,  and  be  ready  to  dress 
it  •  that  we  may  eat  it,  and  die.'  But  it  never  really 
comes  to  that.  The  new  ever  comes  before  the  old  is  all 
eaten  up  ;  or  if  it  be  delayed  even  beyond  that  time,  it 
comes  before  the  hunger  reaches  inanition.  It  may  be 
good  that  we  should  have  to  trust  Him,  even  when  the 
storehouse  is  empty;  it  may  be  good  for  us  to  know 


286       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.  xxvi. 

something  of  want,  but  that  discipline  conies  seldom, 
and  is  never  carried  very  far.  For  the  most  part  He 
anticipates  wants  by  gifts,  and  His  good  gifts  overlap 
each  othe^  in  our  outward  lives  as  slates  on  a  roof,  or 
scales  on  a  fish. 

We  wonder  at  the  smooth  working  of  the  machinery 
for  feeding  a  great  city ;  and  how,  day  by  day,  the  pro- 
visions come  at  the  right  time,  and  are  parted  out 
among  hundreds  of  thousands  of  homes.  But  we  seldom 
think  of  the  punctual  love,  the  perfect  knowledge,  the 
profound  wisdom  which  cares  for  us  all,  and  is  always 
in  time  with  its  gifts.  It  was  that  quality  of  punctu- 
ality extended  over  a  whole  universe  which  seemed  so 
wonderful  to  the  Psalmist :  '  The  eyes  of  all  wait  upon 
Thee,  and  Thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season.' 
God's  machinery  for  distribution  is  perfect,  and  its 
very  perfection,  with  the  constancy  of  the  resulting 
blessings,  robs  Him  of  His  praise,  and  hinders  our  grati- 
tude.   By  assiduity  He  loses  admiration. 

'  Things  grown  common  lose  their  dear  delight.'  '  If 
in  His  gifts  and  benefits  He  were  more  sparing  and 
close-handed,'  said  Luther,  *we  should  learn  to  be 
thankful.'  But  let  us  learn  it  by  the  continuity  of  our 
joys,  that  we  may  not  need  to  be  taught  it  by  their  inter- 
ruption ;  and  let  us  still  all  tremulous  anticipation  of 
possible  failure  or  certain  loss  by  the  happy  confidence 
which  we  have  a  right  to  cherish,  that  His  mercies 
will  meet  our  needs,  continuous  as  they  are,  and  be 
strung  so  close  together  on  the  poor  thread  of  our  lives 
that  no  gap  will  be  discernible  in  the  jewelled  circle. 

May  we  not  apply  that  same  thought  of  the  un- 
broken continuity  of  God's  gifts  to  the  higher  region 
of  our  spiritual  experience  ?  His  supplies  of  wisdom, 
love,  joy,  peace,  power,  to  our  souls  are  always  enough 


v.io]  THE  OLD  STORE  AND  THE  NEW  287 

and  more  than  enough  for  our  wants.  If  ever  men 
complain  of  languishing  vitality  in  their  religious 
emotions,  or  of  a  stinted  supply  of  food  for  their  truest 
self,  it  is  their  own  fault,  not  His.  He  means  that 
there  should  be  no  paientheses  of  famine  in  our 
Christian  life.  It  is  not  His  doing  if  times  of  torpor 
alternate  with  seasons  of  quick  energy  and  joyful 
fullness  of  life.  So  far  as  He  is  concerned  the  flow  is 
uninterrupted,  and  if  it  come  to  us  in  jets  and  spurts 
as  from  an  intermittent  well,  it  is  because  our  own  fault 
has  put  some  obstacle  to  choke  the  channel  and  dam 
out  His  Spirit  from  our  spirits.  We  cannot  too  firmly 
hold,  or  too  profoundly  feel,  that  an  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  supplies  of  His  grace — unbroken  and  bright 
as  a  sunbeam  reaching  in  one  golden  shaft  all  the  way 
from  the  sun  to  the  earth — is  His  purpose  concerning 
us.  Here,  in  this  highest  region,  the  thought  of  our 
text  is  most  absolutely  true ;  for  He  who  gives  is  ever 
pouring  forth  His  own  self  for  us  to  take,  and  there  is 
no  limit  to  our  reception  but  our  capacity  and  our 
desire ;  nor  any  reason  for  a  moment's  break  in  our 
possession  of  love,  righteousness,  peace,  but  our  with- 
drawal of  our  souls  from  beneath  the  Niagara  of  His 
grace.  As  long  as  we  keep  our  poor  vessels  below  that 
constant  downpour  they  will  be  full.  It  is  all  our  own 
blame  if  they  are  empty.  Why  should  Christian  people 
have  these  dismal  times  of  deadness,  these  parentheses 
of  paralysis  ?  as  if  their  growth  must  be  like  that  of  a 
tree  with  its  alternations  of  winter  sleep  and  summer 
waking  ?  In  regard  to  outward  blessings  we  are,  as  it 
were,  put  upon  rations,  and  'that  He  gives'  us  we 
•gather.'  There  He  sometimes  does,  in  love  and 
wisdom,  put  us  on  very  short  allowance,  and  even  now 
and  then  causes  *  the  fields  to  yield  no  meat.'    But  never 


288       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxvi. 

is  it  so  in  the  higher  region.  There  He  puts  the  key  of 
the  storehouse  into  our  own  hands,  and  we  may  take 
as  much  as  we  will,  and  have  as  much  as  we  take. 
There  the  bread  of  God  is  given  for  evermore,  and  He 
wills  that  in  uninterrupted  abundance  '  the  meek  shall 
eat  and  be  satisfied.' 

The  source  is  full  to  overflowing,  and  there  are  no 
limits  to  the  supply.  The  only  limit  is  our  capacity, 
which  again  is  largely  determined  by  our  desire.  So 
after  all  His  gifts  there  is  more  yet  unreceived  to  pos- 
sess. After  all  His  Self-revelation  there  is  more  yet 
unspoken  to  declare.  Great  as  is  the  goodness  which 
He  has  '  wrought  before  the  sons  of  men  for  them  that 
trust  in  Him,'  there  are  far  greater  treasures  of  good- 
ness *  laid  up '  in  the  deep  mines  of  God  '  for  them  that 
fear  Him.'  Bars  of  uncoined  treasure  and  ingots  of 
massy  gold  lie  in  His  storehouses,  to  be  put  into  circula- 
tion as  soon  as  we  need,  and  can  use,  them.  Hence  we 
have  the  right  to  look  for  an  endless  increase  in  our 
possession  of  God;  and  from  the  consideration  of  an 
Infinite  Spirit  that  imparts  Himself,  and  of  finite  but 
indefinitely  expansible  spirits  that  receive,  the  certainty 
arises  of  an  endless  life  for  us  of  growing  glory ;  a 
heaven  of  ceaseless  advance,  where  in  constant  alterna- 
tion desire  shall  widen  capacity,  and  capacity  increase 
fruition,  and  fruition  lead  in,  not  satiety,  but  quickened 
appetite  and  deeper  longing. 

But  we  may  also  see  in  this  text  the  prescription  of  a 
duty  as  well  as  the  announcement  of  a  promise.  There 
is  direction  here  as  to  our  manner  of  receiving  God's 
gifts,  as  well  as  large  assurance  as  to  His  manner  of 
bestowing  them.  It  is  His  to  substitute  the  new  for  the 
old.  It  is  ours  gladly  to  accept  the  exchange,  a  task 
not  always  easy  or  pleasant. 


v.io]  THE  OLD  STORE  AND  THE  NEW  289 

No  doubt  there  is  a  natural  love  of  change  deep  in  us 
all,  but  that  is  held  in  check  by  its  opposite,  and  all 
poetry  and  human  life  itself  are  full  of  the  sadness 
born  of  mutation.  Our  Lord  laid  bare  a  deep  tendency, 
when  He  said, '  No  man  having  tasted  old  wine,  straight- 
way desireth  new ;  because  he  saith  the  old  is  better. 
We  cling  to  what  is  familiar,  in  the  very  furniture  of 
our  houses  ;  and  yet  we  are  ever  being  forced  to  accept 
what  is  strange  and  new,  and,  like  some  fresh  article 
in  a  room,  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  well-worn 
things  that  we  have  seen  standing  in  their  corners  for 
years.  It  takes  some  time  for  the  raw  look  to  wear 
off,  and  for  us  to  '  get  used  to  it,'  as  we  say.  So  is  it, 
though  often  for  deeper  reasons,  in  far  more  important 
things.  A  man,  for  instance,  has  been  engaged  in  some 
kind  of  business  for  years,  and  at  last  God  shows  him, 
by  clear  indications,  that  he  must  turn  to  something 
else.  How  slow  he  is  to  see  it,  how  reluctant  to  do  it ! 
How  he  cleaves  to  the  '  old  store ' !  How  he  shrinks  from 
clearing  out  the  barn,  to  bring  in  the  new !  Or  a  house- 
hold has  been  going  on  for  many  days  unbroken,  and  at 
last  a  time  comes  when  some  of  its  members  have  to  pass 
out  into  new  circumstances ;  a  son  to  push  his  way  in 
the  world,  a  daughter  to  brighten  another  fireside.  It 
is  hard  for  the  parents  to  enter  fully  into  the  high 
hopes  of  their  children,  and  to  accept  the  new  condition, 
without  many  vain  longings  for  the  old  days  that  can 
never  come  back  any  more.  So,  all  through  our  lives, 
wisdom  and  faith  say,  *  Bring  forth  the  old  because  of 
the  new.'  Accept  cheerfully  the  law  of  constant 
change  under  which  God's  love  has  set  us.  Do  not  let 
the  pleasant  bonds  of  habit  tie  down  your  hearts  so 
tightly  to  the  familiar  possessions  that  you  shrink 
from  the  introduction  of  fresh  elements.    Be  sure  that 

T 


290       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.  xxvi. 

the  new  comes  from  the  same  loving  hand  which  sent 
the  old  in  its  season,  and  that  change  is  meant  to  be 
progress.  Do  not  confine  yourselves  within  any  mill- 
horse  round  of  associations  and  occupations.  Front 
the  vicissitudes  of  life,  not  merely  with  brave  patience, 
but  with  happy  confidence,  for  they  all  come  from  Him 
whose  love  is  older  than  your  oldest  blessings,  and 
whose  mercies,  new  every  morning,  express  themselves 
afresh  through  every  change.  Welcome  the  new, 
treasure  the  old,  and  in  both  see  the  purpose  of  that 
loving  Father  who,  Himself  unchanged,  changeth  all 
things,  and 

*.  .  .  fulfils  Himself  in  many  ways, 
Lest  one  good  custom  should  corrupt  the  world.' 

In  higher  matters  than  these  our  text  may  give  us 
counsel  as  to  our  duty.  *  God  hath  more  light  yet  to 
break  forth  from  His  holy  word.'  We  are  bound  to 
welcome  new  truth,  so  soon  as  to  our  apprehensions  it 
has  made  good  its  title,  and  not  to  refuse  it  lodgment 
in  our  minds  because  it  needs  the  displacement  of  their 
old  contents.  In  the  regions  of  our  knowledge  and  of 
our  Christian  life,  most  chiefly,  are  we  under  solemn 
obligations  to  '  bring  forth  the  old  store  because  of  the 
new';  if  we  would  not  be  unfaithful  to  God's  great 
educational  process  that  goes  on  through  all  our  lives. 
It  is  often  difficult  to  adjust  the  relations  of  our  last 
lesson  with  our  previous  possessions.  There  is  always 
a  temptation  to  make  too  much  of  a  new  truth,  and  to 
fancy  that  it  will  produce  more  change  in  our  whole 
mental  furniture  than  it  really  will  do.  No  man  is  less 
likely  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  than  he 
who  is  always  deep  in  love  with  some  new  thought, 
•  the  Cynthia  of  the  minute,'  and  ever  ready  to  barter 


v.io]  EMANCIPATED  SLAVES  291 

♦  old  lamps  for  new  ones.'  But  all  these  things  admitted, 
still  it  remains  true  that  we  are  here  to  learn,  that  our 
education  is  to  go  on  all  our  days,  and  that  here  on 
earth  it  can  only  be  carried  out  by  our  parting  with 
the  old  store,  which  may  have  become  musty  by 
long  lying  in  the  granaries,  to  make  room  for  the  new, 
just  gathered  in  the  ripened  field.  The  great  central 
truths  of  God  in  Christ  are  to  be  kept  for  ever ;  but 
we  shall  come  to  grasp  them  in  their  fullness  only  by 
joyfully  welcoming  every  fresh  access  of  clearer  light 
which  falls  upon  them ;  and  gladly  laying  aside  our 
inadequate  thoughts  of  God's  permanent  revelation 
of  Himself  in  Jesus  Christ,  to  house  and  garner  in 
heart  and  spirit  the  fuller  knowledge  which  it  may 
please  Him  to  impart. 

So  the  law  for  life  is  thankful  enjoyment  of  the  old 
store,  and  openness  of  mind  and  freedom  of  heart  which 
permit  its  unreluctant  surrender  when  newer  harvests 
ripen.  And  the  highest  form  of  the  promise  of  our 
text  will  be  when  we  pass  into  another  world,  and  its 
rich  abundance  is  poured  out  into  our  laps.  Blessed  are 
they  who  can  willingly  put  away  the  familiar  blessings 
of  earth,  and  stretch  out,  willingly  emptied,  expectant 
hands  to  meet  the  *  new  store'  of  Heaven  I 


EMANCIPATED  SLAVES 

•I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  which  brought  you  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  that 
ye  should  not  be  their  bondmen  ;  and  I  have  broken  the  bands  of  your  yoke,  and 
made  you  go  upright.'— Lev.  xxvi.  13. 

The  history  of  Israel  is  a  parable  and  a  prophecy  as 
well  as  a  history. 
The  great  central  word  of  the  New  Testament  has 


292       THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxvi. 

been  drawn  from  it,  viz.  *  redemption,'  i.e.  a  buying  out 
of  bondage. 

The  Hebrew  slaves  in  Egypt  were  'delivered.'  The 
deliverance  made  them  a  nation.  God  acquired  them 
for  Himself,  and  they  became  His  servants. 

The  great  truths  of  the  gospel  are  all  there. 

Henceforth  the  fact  of  their  deliverance  became  the 
basis  of  all  His  appeals  to  them;  the  ground  of  His 
law;  the  reason  for  their  obedience.  In  the  previous 
context  it  has  shaped  the  institution  of  slavery.  Here 
it  is  the  foundation  of  a  general  exhortation  to  obedi- 
ence. The  emphatic  picture  of  the  men  stooping 
beneath  the  yoke,  and  then  straightening  themselves 
up,  erect,  illustrates  the  joyful  freedom  which  Christ 
gives.    That  freedom  is  our  subject. 

I.  Jesus  gives  freedom  from  the  slavery  of  sin. 

Freedom  consists  in  power  to  follow  unhindered  the 
law  of  our  being.  So  sin  is  slavery  because  it  is  con- 
trary to  that  law. 

When  Jesus  promised  freedom  through  the  truth, 
the  Jews  indignantly  spurned  the  offer  with  the  proud 
boast,  which  the  presence  of  a  Roman  garrison  in 
Jerusalem  should  have  made  to  stick  in  their  throats : 
'  We  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man.'  A  like  hardy 
shutting  of  eyes  to  plain  facts  characterises  the  attitude 
of  multitudes  to  the  Christian  view  of  man's  condition. 
Jesus  answered  the  Jews  by  the  deep  saying :  '  He  that 
committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin.'  A  man  fancies 
himself  showing  off  his  freedom  by  throwing  off  the 
restraints  of  morality  or  law,  and  by  'doing  as  he 
likes,'  but  he  is  really  showing  his  servitude.  Self-will 
looks  like  liberty,  but  it  is  serfdom.  The  libertine  is  a 
slave.  That  slavery  under  sin  takes  two  forms.  The 
man  who  sins  is  a  slave  to  the  power  of  sin.    Will  and 


V.13]  EMANCIPATED  SLAVES  293 

conscience  are  meant  to  guide  and  impel  us,  and  we 
never  sin  without  first  coercing  or  silencing  them  and 
subjecting  them  to  the  upstart  tyranny  of  desires  and 
senses  which  should  obey  and  not  command.  The 
'  beggars '  are  on  horseback,  and  the  '  princes '  walking. 
There  is  a  servile  revolt,  and  we  know  what  horrors 
accompany  that. 

But  that  slavery  under  sin  is  shown  also  by  the 
terrible  force  with  which  any  sin,  if  once  committed, 
appeals  to  the  doer  to  repeat  it.  It  is  not  only  in 
regard  to  sensual  sins  that  the  awful  insistence  of 
habit  grips  the  doer,  and  makes  it  the  rarest  thing 
that  evil  once  done  is  done  only  once. 

But  he  who  sins  is  also  a  slave  to  the  guilt  of  sin. 
True,  that  sense  of  guilt  is  for  the  most  part  and  in 
most  men  dormant,  but  the  snake  is  but  hibernating, 
and  often  wakes  and  stings  at  most  unexpected 
moments.  '  The  deceitfulness  of  sin '  lies  to  the  sinner, 
so  that  for  the  most  part  he  '  wipes  his  mouth,  saying 
I  have  done  no  harm,'  but  some  chance  incident  may  at 
any  time,  and  certainly  something  will  at  some  time, 
dissipate  the  illusion,  as  a  stray  sunbeam  might  scatter 
a  wisp  of  mist  and  show  startled  eyes  the  grim  fact 
that  had  always  been  there.  And  even  while  not  con- 
sciously felt,  guilt  hampers  the  soul's  insight  into 
divine  realities,  clips  its  wings  so  that  it  cannot  soar, 
paralyses  its  efforts  after  noble  aims,  and  inclines  it  to 
ignoble  grovelling  as  far  away  from  thoughts  of  God 
and  goodness  as  may  be. 

Christ  makes  the  man  bound  and  tied  by  the  cords  of 
his  sins  lift  himself  up  and  stand  erect.  By  His  death 
He  brings  forgiveness  which  removes  guilt  and  the 
consciousness  of  it.  By  His  inbreathed  life  He  gives  a 
new  nature  akin  to  His  own,  and  brings  into  force  a 


294        THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxvi. 

new  motive,  even  transforming  love,  which  is  stronger 
than  the  death  with  which  sin  has  cursed  its  doers. 
*  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life  in  Christ  Jeaus  has  made 
me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.' 

II.  Jesus  gives  freedom  from  a  slavish  relation  to 
God. 

Apart  from  Him,  God,  if  recognised  at  all,  is  for  the 
most  part  thought  of  as  '  austere,  reaping  where  He  did 
not  sow,'  and  His  commandments  as  grievous.  Men 
may  sullenly  recognise  that  they  cannot  resist,  but 
they  do  not  submit.  They  may  obey  in  act,  but  there 
is  no  obedience  in  their  wills,  nor  any  cheerfulness  in 
their  hearts.  The  elder  brother  in  the  parable  could 
say,  '  Neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time  thy  command- 
ment,' but  his  service  had  been  joyless,  and  he  never 
remembered  having  received  gifts  that  made  him 
'  merry  with  his  friends.' 

But  from  all  such  slavish,  and  therefore  worthless, 
obedience,  and  all  such  reluctant,  and  therefore  unreal, 
submission,  Jesus  liberates  those  who  believe  on  Him 
and  abide  in  His  word.  He  declares  God  as  our  loving 
Father,  and  through  Him  we  have  authority  to  become 
sons  of  God.  He  '  sends  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into 
our  hearts,'  and  that  makes  us  to  be  no  more  slaves  but 
sons.  Sullen  obedience  becomes  glad  choice,  and  it  is 
the  inmost  desire,  and  the  deepest  delight,  of  the  loving 
child  to  do  always  the  things  that  please  the  loving 
Father.  '  I  ought '  and  *  I  will '  coalesce,  and  so  there 
is  no  slavery,  but  perfect  freedom,  in  recognising  and 
bowing  to  the  great  '  I  must '  which  sweetly  rules  the 
life. 

III.  Christ  gives  deliverance  from  servility  to  men. 
"We  need   not    touch   on  the  historical  connection, 

plain    as    that    is,    between    modern    conceptions    of 


V.  13]  EMANCIPATED  SLAVES  295 

individual  freedom  and  the  influence  of  Christ's  teach- 
ing. Modern  democracy  is  rooted  in  Christ,  though  it 
is  often  unaware  of  its  genesis,  and  blindly  attacks  the 
force  to  which  it  owes  its  existence. 

Because  all  men  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  because  by 
that  redemption  all  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  Him, 
because  all  have  equal  access  to  Him,  and  are  taught 
and  guided  by  His  Spirit,  because  *  we  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,'  therefore  class 
prerogatives  and  subject 'classes  fade  away,  and  there 
is  '  neither  bond  nor  free,'  but  '  all  are  one  in  Christ 
Jesus.' 

But  there  are  other  ways  in  which  men  tyrannise 
over  men  and  in  which  Christ's  redemption  sets  us  free. 

There  is  the  undue  authority  of  favourite  teachers 
and  examples. 

There  is  the  tyranny  of  public  opinion. 

There  is  undue  regard  to  human  approbation. 

There  is  the  sway  of  priestcraft. 

How  does  Christianity  deliver  from  these  ?  It  makes 
Christ's  law  our  unconditional  duty.  It  makes  His 
approbation  our  highest  joy.  It  gives  legitimate  scope 
to  the  instinct  of  loyalty,  submission,  and  imitation, 
and  of  subjection  to  authority.  It  reduces  to  insignifi- 
cance men's  judgment,  and  all  their  loud  voices  to  a 
babble  of  nothings.  'With  me  it  is  a  very  small 
matter  to  be  judged  of  man's  judgment.'  It  brings  the 
soul  into  direct  communion  with  God,  and  sweeps  away 
all  intermediaries. 

'  Not  for  that  we  have  dominion  over  your  faith  but 
are  helpers  of  your  joy ;  for  by  faith  ye  stand.' 

So  personal  independence  and  individuality  of  char- 
acter are  the  result  of  Christianity.  'I  have  made 
you  go  upright. 


296        THE  BOOK  OF  LEVITICUS  [ch.xxvi. 

IV.  Christ  gives  us  freedom  from  the  power  of 
circumstances. 

Most  men  are  made  by  these.  "We  need  not  here  enter 
on  questions  of  the  influence  of  their  environment  on 
all  men's  development. 

But  Christ  gives  us — 

(a)  A  great  aim  for  our  lives  high  above  these. 

(6)  A  foothold  in  Him  outside  of  them.  We  are  not 
the  slaves  of  our  circumstances,  but  their  masters. 

(c)  The  power  to  utilise  them. 

So  Christians  are  '  free '  in  all  senses  of  the  word. 

The  great  Act  of  Emancipation  has  been  passed  for 
us  all.  Only  Christ  has  rule  over  us,  and  we  have  our 
perfect  freedom  in  His  service.  We  have  been  sitting 
in  the  prison-house,  and  He  has  come  and  declared 
*  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me  to  proclaim  liberty 
to  the  captives.' 


THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS 
THE  WARFARE  OF  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE 

'All  that  enter  in  to  perform  the  service,  to  do  the  work  in  the  tabernacle.' 

NxjM.  iv.  23. 

These  words  occur  in  tKe  series  of  regulations  as  to 
the  functions  of  the  Levites  in  the  Tabernacle  worship. 
The  words  •  to  perform  the  service '  are,  as  the  margin 
tells  us,  literally,  to  *  war  the  warfare.'  Although  it 
may  be  difficult  to  say  why  such  very  prosaic  and 
homely  work  as  carrying  the  materials  of  the  Taber- 
nacle and  the  sacrificial  vessels  was  designated  by  such 
a  term,  the  underlying  suggestion  is  what  I  desire  to  fix 
upon  now — viz.,  that  work  for  God,  of  whatever  kind 
it  be,  which  Christian  people  are  bound  to  do,  and 
which  is  mainly  service  for  men  for  God's  sake,  will 
never  be  rightly  done  until  we  understand  that  it  is  a 
warfare,  as  well  as  a  work. 

The  phrase  on  which  I  am  commenting  occurs  again 
and  again  in  the  regulations  as  to  the  Levitical  ser- 
vice, and  is  applied,  not  only  as  in  my  text  to  those 
who  were  told  off  to  bear  the  burdens  on  the  march, 
but  also  to  the  whole  body  of  Levites,  who  did  the 
inferior  services  in  connection  with  the  ritual  worship. 
They  were  not,  as  it  would  appear,  sacrificing  priests, 
but  they  belonged  to  the  same  tribe  as  these,  and  they 
had  sacred  functions  to  discharge.  So  we  come  to  this 
principle,  that  Christian  service  is  to  be  looked  at  as 
warfare. 

Now,  that  is  a  principle  which  ought  to  be  applied  to 

t07 


298  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.iv. 

all  Christians.  For  there  is  no  such  thing  as  designating 
a  portion  of  Christ's  Church  to  service  which  others 
have  not  to  perform.  The  distinction  of  'priest'  and 
'layman'  existed  in  the  Old  Testament;  it  does  not 
exist  under  the  New  Covenant,  and  there  is  no  obliga- 
tion upon  any  one  Christian  man  to  devote  himself  for 
Christ's  sake  to  Christ's  service  and  man's  help  (which 
is  Christ's  service),  that  does  not  lie  equally  upon  all 
Christian  people.  The  function  is  the  same  for  all ;  the 
methods  of  discharging  it  may  be  widely  different. 
Within  the  limits  of  the  priestly  tribe  there  may  still  be 
those  whose  office  it  is  to  carry  the  vessels,  and  those 
whose  office  it  is  to  act  more  especially  as  ministering 
priests ;  but  they  are  all  '  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.'  We,  if 
we  are  Christian  people  at  all,  are  all  bound  to  do  this 
work  of  '  the  tabernacle,'  and  war  this  warfare. 

It  is  important  that  we  Christian  people  should 
elevate  our  thoughts  of  our  duties  in  the  world  to  the 
height  of  this  great  metaphor.  The  metaphor  of  the 
Christian  life  as  being  a  '  warfare '  is  familiar  enough, 
but  that  is  not  exactly  the  point  which  I  wish  to  dwell 
upon  now.  When  we  speak  about  '  fighting  the  good 
fight  of  faith,'  we  generally  mean  our  wrestle  and 
struggle  with  our  own  evils  and  with  the  things  that 
hinder  us  from  developing  a  Christlike  character,  and 
'  growing  in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.'  But  it  is  another  sort  of  war- 
fare about  which  I  am  now  speaking,  the  warfare 
which  every  Christian  man  has  to  wage  who  flings 
himself  into  the  work  of  diminishing  the  world's 
miseries  and  sins,  and  tries  to  tnake  people  better, 
and  happier  because  they  are  better.  That  is  a  fight, 
and  will  always  be  so,  if  it  is  rightly  done, 

I.  Think  of  the  foes. 


V.23]  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE  299 

Speaking  generally,  society  is  constituted  upon  a 
non-Christian  basis.  We  talk  about '  Christian '  nations. 
There  is  not  one  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  There  is  not 
a  nation  whose  institutions  and  maxims  and  politics 
and  the  practices  of  its  individual  members  are  ruled 
and  moulded  predominantly  by  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  So  every  man  that  has  come  into  personal 
touch  with  that  Lord,  and  has  felt  that  His  command- 
ments are  the  supreme  authority  in  his  own  individual 
life,  when  he  goes  out'  into  society,  comes  full  tilt 
against  a  whole  host  of  things  that  are  in  pronounced 
antagonism,  or  in  real  though  unacknowledged  con- 
tradiction, to  the  principles  by  which  a  Christian  has 
to  live  for  himself,  and  to  commend  to  his  brethren. 
So  we  have  to  fight.  There  are  two  things  to  be  done — 
the  imparting  of  good  which  will  increase  the  sum  of 
the  world's  happiness,  and  the  destruction  of  evil,  which 
will  subtract  some  of  the  world's  sorrows.  The  latter 
is  always  a  conflict,  for  there  are  arrayed  in  defence  of 
the  evil  vested  interests,  and  the  influence  of  habit,  and 
the  lowered  vitality  and  sensitiveness  of  conscience 
which  has  come  from  breathing  the  polluted  atmo- 
sphere which  evil  has  vitiated.  So  that  if  we  set  our- 
selves, in  humble,  quiet,  out-and-out  dependence  on 
Jesus  Christ  and  submission  to  His  will,  to  lead 
other  people  to  submit  to  His  will,  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world  more  certain  than  that  we  shall  find 
against  us,  starting  up,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  mist  and 
taking  form  suddenly,  a  whole  host  of  enemies.  So  we 
Christian  men,  as  individuals,  as  members  of  a  com- 
miunity  and  able  to  bring  some  influence  to  bear  upon 
the  conscience  of  society,  have  to  fight  against  popular 
social  evils,  and  to  war  for  righteousness'  sake. 

There  is  another  foe.    There  is  nothing  that  men 


300  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.iv. 

dislike  more  than  being  lifted  up  into  a  clearer  atmo- 
sphere and  made  to  see  truths  which  they  do  not  see  or 
care  for.  When  we  first  become  Christians  we  are  all 
hot  to  go  and  teach  and  preach ;  and  we  fancy  that  we 
have  only  to  stand  up,  with  a  Bible  in  our  hand,  and 
read  two  or  three  texts,  and  our  fellows  will  grasp 
them  as  gladly  as  we  have  done.  But  soon  we  find  out 
that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  draw  men  to  Christ  as  we 
thought  it  would  be.  We  have  to  fight  against  gravita- 
tion and  unwillingness,  when  we  would  lift  a  poor 
brother  into  the  liberty  and  the  light  that  we  are  in. 
We  have  to  struggle  with  the  men  that  we  are  trying 
to  help.  We  have  to  war,  in  order  to  bring  '  the  peace 
of  God  which  passes  understanding '  into  their  hearts. 

But  the  worst  of  all  our  foes,  in  doing  Christian 
service,  is  our  own  miserable  selves,  with  our  laziness, 
and  our  vanity,  and  our  wondering  what  A,  B,  and  C 
will  think  about  us,  and  the  mingling  of  impure 
motives  with  nobler  ones,  and  our  being  angry  with 
people  because  they  are  so  insensible,  not  so  much  to 
Christ's  love  as  to  our  words  and  pleadings.  Unless 
we  can  purge  all  that  devil's  leaven  out  of  ourselves, 
we  have  little  chance  of  working  '  the  work  of  the  taber- 
nacle,' or  warring  the  warfare  of  God.  Ah !  brethren, 
to  do  anything  for  this  world  of  unbelief  and  sin,  of 
which  we  ourselves  are  part,  is  a  struggle.  And  I 
know  of  no  work  that  needs  more  continual  putting  a 
firm  heel  upon  self,  in  all  its  subtle  manifestations, 
than  the  various  forms  of  Christian  service.  Not  only 
we  preachers,  but  Sunday-school  teachers,  mothers  in 
their  nurseries,  teaching  their  children,  and  all  of  us,  if 
we  are  trying  to  do  anything  for  men,  for  Christ's  sake, 
must  feel,  if  we  are  honest  with  ourselves  and  about 
our  work,  that  the  first  condition  of  success  in  it  is  to 


V.  23]  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE  301 

fight  down  self,  and  that  only  then,  being  emptied  of 
ourselves,  are  we  ready  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  by 
which  we  are  made  mighty  to  pull  down  the  strong- 
holds of  sin. 

II.  The  weapons  of  this  warfare. 

There  are  two  great  passages  in  the  New  Testament, 
both  of  which  deal  with  the  Christian  life  under  this 
metaphor  of  warfare.  One  of  these  is  the  detailed 
description  of  the  Christian  armour  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians.  There  we- have  described  the  equipment 
for  that  phase  of  the  fight  of  the  Christian  life  which 
has  to  do  mainly  with  the  perfecting  of  the  individual 
character.  But  somewhat  different  is  the  armour 
which  is  to  be  worn,  when  the  Christian  man  goes  out 
into  the  world  to  labour  and  to  wage  war  there  for 
Jesus  Christ.  We  may  turn,  then,  rather  to  the  other 
of  the  two  passages  in  question  for  the  descriptions  of 
the  equipment,  armour,  and  weapons  of  the  Christian 
in  his  warfare  for  the  spread  of  truth  and  goodness  in 
the  world.  The  passage  to  which  I  refer  is  in  2  Cor.  vi. 
What  are  the  weapons  that  Paul  specifies  in  that  place  ? 
I  venture  to  alter  their  order,  because  he  seems  to  have 
put  them  down  just  as  they  came  into  his  mind,  and  we 
can  put  some  kind  of  logical  sequence  into  them.  •  By 
the  Word  of  God ' — that  is  the  first  one.  *  By  the  Holy 
Ghost,'  which  is  otherwise  given  as  '  by  the  power  of 
God,'  is  the  next.  Get  your  minds  and  hearts  filled  with 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  dwell  in  fellowship  with 
God,  baptized  with  His  Holy  Spirit ;  and  then  you  will  be 
clothed  '  as  with  a  vesture  down  to  your  heels '  with  the 
power  of  God.  These  are  the  divine  side,  the  weapons 
given  us  from  above — *  the  Word  of  God '  which  is  '  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,'  and  the  indwelling  Holy  Ghost 
manifesting  Himself  in  power.    Then  follow  a  series  of 


302  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.  iv. 

human  qualities  which,  though  they  are  'the  fruit  of 
the  Spirit,'  are  yet  not  produced  in  us  without  our  own 
co-operation.  We  have  to  forge  and  sharpen  these 
weapons,  though  the  fire  in  which  they  are  forged  is 
from  above,  and  the  metal  of  which  they  are  made  is 
given  from  heaven,  like  meteoric  iron.  These  are 
'  kindness,  long-suffering,  love  unfeigned.'  We  have  to 
dismiss  from  our  minds  the  ordinary  characteristics  of 
warfare  in  thinking  of  that  which  Christians  are  to 
wage.  Like  the  old  Knights  Templars,  we  must  carry 
a  sword  which  has  a  cross  for  its  hilt,  and  must  be  clad 
in  gentleness,  and  long-suffering,  and  unfeigned  love. 
'  The  wrath  of  men  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of 
God.'  You  cannot  bully  people  into  Christianity,  you 
cannot  scold  them  into  goodness.  There  must  be 
sweetness  in  order  to  attract,  and  he  imperfectly  echoes 
the  music  of  the  voice  that  came  from  'the  lips  into 
which  grace  was  poured,'  whose  words  are  harsh  and 
rough,  and  who  preaches  the  Gospel  as  if  he  were 
thundering  damnation  into  people's  ears. 

Brethren,  whatever  be  our  warfare  against  sin,  we 
must  never  lose  our  tempers.  Harsh  words  break  no 
bones  indeed,  but  neither  do  they  break  hearts.  A 
character  like  Jesus  Christ — that  is  the  victorious 
weapon.  Let  a  man  go  and  live  in  the  world  with 
these  weapons  that  I  have  been  naming,  the  truth  of 
God  in  his  heart,  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  spirit,  the 
power  that  comes  therefrom  animating  his  deadness 
and  strengthening  his  weakness,  and  himself  an  emblem 
and  an  embodiment  of  the  redeeming  love  of  Christ — 
and  though  he  spoke  no  word  he  would  be  sure  to 
preach  Christ ;  and  though  he  struck  no  blow  he  would 
be  a  formidable  antagonist  to  the  hosts  of  evil,  and 
the  icebergs  of  sin  and  godlessness  would  run  down 


V.23]  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE  303 

into  water  before  his  silent  and  omnipotent  shining. 
These  are  the  weapons. 

III.  Note  the  temper,  or  disposition,  of  the  Christian 
warrior-servant. 

Courage  goes  without  saying.  If  a  man  expects  to 
be  beaten,  and  to  do  nothing  by  his  Christian  witness 
but  clear  his  conscience,  he  deserves  nothing  else  than 
what  he  will  get — viz.  that  his  expectation  will  be 
fulfilled  and  he  will  do  nothing  else  hut  clear  his  con- 
science, and  that  imperfectly.  That  is  why  so  many 
preachers  and  Sunday-school  teachers  never  see  any 
conversions  in  their  congregation  or  classes — because 
they  do  not  expect  any  ;  because  they  go  to  their  work 
without  the  enthusiastic  boldness  which  would  give 
power  to  their  utterances. 

I  suppose  concentration,  too,  goes  without  saying. 
When  a  man  is  on  the  battlefield  with  the  swords 
whirling  about  his  head,  and  the  bayonets  an  inch 
from  his  breast,  he  does  not  go  dreaming  of  scenes  a 
hundred  miles  off,  or  think  anything  else  than  the 
one  thing,  how  to  keep  a  whole  skin  and  wound  an 
enemy.  If  Christian  men  will  do  their  work  in  the 
dawdling,  half -interested,  and  half -indifferent  way  in 
which  so  many  of  us  promenade  through  our  Christian 
service  as  if  it  was  a  review  and  not  a  fight,  they  are 
not  likely  to  bring  back  many  trophies  of  victory. 
You  must  put  your  whole  selves  into  the  battle.  I  said 
we  must  subdue  ourselves  ere  we  begin  to  fight.  That 
is  no  contradiction  to  what  I  am  saying  now,  for,  as 
we  all  know,  there  is  a  distinction  between  the  two 
selves  in  us — the  self-centred  self,  which  is  to  be  cruci- 
fied, and  the  God-centred  self,  which  is  to  be  nourished. 
You  must  put  your  whole  selves  into  the  battle. 

There  must,  too,  be  discipline.     One  difference  be- 


304  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.iv. 

tween  a  mob  and  an  army  is  that  the  mob  has  as  many 
wills  as  there  are  heads  in  it,  and  the  army  has  only 
one  will,  that  of  the  commander.     He  says  to  one  man 

•  Go ! '  and  he  goes,  and  gets  shot ;  and  to  another  one 

*  Come !  *  and  he  comes ;  and  to  a  third  one  '  Do  this ! ' 
and,  no  matter  what  it  is,  straightway  he  goes  and 
does  it.  So  if  we  are  soldiers  we  have  to  take  orders 
from  headquarters,  and  to  be  sure  that  we  pay  no 
attention  to  any  other  commands.  Suppose  a  man  is  set 
at  a  certain  post  by  his  captain,  and  a  corporal  comes 
and  says,  *  You  go  and  do  this  other  thing ;  never  mind 
your  post,  I  will  look  after  that,'  to  obey  that  is  mutiny. 
If  Jesus  Christ  tells  you  to  do  anything,  and  any  others 
say  'Do  not  do  it  just  yet!'  neglect  them,  and  obey 
Him.  If  your  own  heart  says,  *  Stop  a  little  while  and 
try  something  other  and  easier  before  you  tackle  that 
task,'  be  sure  of  the  Captain's  voice,  and  then,  whatever 
happens,  obey,  and  obey  at  once.  Warfare  is  a  diabolical 
thing,  but  there  is  a  divine  beauty  in  one  aspect  of  it — 

Their's  not  to  make  reply, 
Their's  not  to  reason  why, 
Their's  but  to  do — 

even  if  it  mean  *  to  die.'    Thus  let  us  wage  warfare. 

IV.  The  Relieving  Guard. 

This  metaphor  of  warfare  is  used  in  the  Book  of  Job, 
in  a  passage  where  our  English  Version  does  not  show 
it.  So  I  venture  to  substitute  the  right  translation 
for  the  one  in  the  Authorised  Version,  *A11  the  days 
of  my  warfare  will  I  wait  till  my  change  comes.'  The 
guard  will  be  relieved  some  day,  and  the  private  that 
has  been  tramping  up  and  down  in  the  dark  or  the 
snow,  perhaps  within  rifle's  length  of  the  enemy,  will 
shoulder  his  gun  and  go  into  the  comfortable  guard- 


V.  23]  THE  GUIDING  PILLAR  305 

house,  and  hang  up  his  knapsack,  and  fling  off  his  dirty 
boots,  and  sit  down  by  the  fire,  and  make  himself 
comfortable.  There  is  a  '  heavenly  manner  of  relieving 
guard.'  Soon  it  will  be  the  end  of  the  sentry's  time, 
and  then,  as  one  of  those  that  had  done  a  good  day's 
work,  and  a  long  one,  said  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  '  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight.'  Henceforth  the  helmet  is  put  off, 
which  is  '  the  hope  of  salvation,'  and  the  crown  is  put 
on,  which  is  salvation  in  its  fullness.  '  All  the  days  of 
my  warfare  will  I  wait '— «till  my  Captain  relieves  the 
guard. 


THE  GUIDING  PILLAR 

'  So  it  was  alway :  the  cloud  covered  [the  tabernacle]  by  day,  and  the  appearance 
of  Are  by  night.'— Num.  ix.  16. 

The  children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  surrounded 
by  miracle,  had  nothing  which  we  do  not  possess. 
They  had  some  things  in  an  inferior  form ;  their 
sustenance  came  by  manna,  ours  comes  by  God's 
blessing  on  our  daily  work,  which  is  better.  Their 
guidance  came  by  this  supernatural  pillar  ;  ours  comes 
by  the  reality  of  which  that  pillar  was  nothing  but  a 
picture.  And  so,  instead  of  fancying  that  men  thus 
led  were  in  advance  of  us,  we  should  learn  that  these, 
the  supernatural  manifestations,  visible  and  palpable, 
of  God's  presence  and  guidance  were  the  beggarly 
elements  :  '  God  having  provided  some  better  thing  for 
us  that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made  perfect.' 

With  this  explanation  of  the  relation  between  the 
miracle  and  symbol  of  the  Old,  and  the  reality  and 
standing  miracle  of  the  New,  Covenants,  let  us  look  at 

u 


306  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.  ix. 

the  eternal  truths,  which  are  set  before  us  in  a  transi- 
tory form,  in  this  cloud  by  day  and  fiery  pillar  by  night. 

I.  Note,  first,  the  double  form  of  the  guiding  pillar. 

The  fire  was  the  centre,  the  cloud  was  wrapped 
around  it.  The  former  was  the  symbol,  making  visible 
to  a  generation  who  had  to  be  taught  through  their 
senses,  the  inaccessible  holiness  and  flashing  brightness 
and  purity  of  the  divine  nature ;  the  latter  tempered 
and  veiled  the  too  great  brightness  for  feeble  eyes. 

The  same  double  element  is  found  in  all  God's  mani- 
festations of  Himself  to  men.  In  every  form  of 
revelation  are  present  both  the  heart  and  core  of 
light,  which  no  eye  can  look  upon,  and  the  merciful 
veil  which,  because  it  veils,  unveils ;  because  it  hides, 
reveals ;  makes  visible  because  it  conceals ;  and  shows 
God  because  it  is  '  the  hiding  of  His  power.*  So,  through 
all  the  history  of  His  dealings  with  men,  there  has  ever 
been  what  is  called  in  Scripture  language  the  'face,' 
or  the  '  name  of  God ' ;  the  aspect  of  the  divine  nature 
on  which  the  eye  can  look ;  and  manifested  through 
it,  there  has  always  been  the  depth  and  inaccessible 
abyss  of  that  Infinite  Being.  We  have  to  be  thankful 
that  in  the  cloud  is  the  fire,  and  that  round  the  fire  is 
the  cloud.  For  only  so  can  our  eyes  behold  and  our 
hands  grasp  the  else  invisible  and  remote  central  Sun 
of  the  universe.  God  hides  to  make  better  known  the 
glories  of  His  character.  His  revelation  is  the  flashing 
of  the  uncreated  and  intolerable  light  of  His  infinite 
Being  through  the  encircling  clouds  of  human  concep- 
tions and  words,  or  of  deeds  which  each  show  forth, 
in  forms  fitted  to  our  apprehension,  some  frag- 
ment of  His  lustre.  After  all  revelation.  He  remains 
unrevealed.  After  ages  of  showing  forth  His  glory. 
He  is  still  *  the  King  invisible,  whom  no  man  hath  seen 


V.  16]  THE  GUIDING  PILL  All  307 

at  any  time  nor  can  see.'  The  revelation  which  He 
makes  of  Himself  is  '  truth  and  is  no  lie.'  The  recog- 
nition of  the  presence  in  it  of  both  the  fire  and  the 
cloud  does  not  cast  any  doubt  on  the  reality  of  our 
imperfect  knowledge,  or  of  the  authentic  participation 
in  the  nature  of  the  central  light,  of  the  sparkles  of 
it  which  reach  us.  We  know  with  a  real  knowledge 
what  we  know  of  Him.  What  He  shows  us  is  Himself, 
though  not  His  whole  self. 

This  double  aspect  of  a;ll  possible  revelation  of  God, 
which  was  symbolised  in  comparatively  gross  external 
form  in  the  pillar  that  led  Israel  on  its  march,  and  lay 
stretched  out  and  quiescent,  a  guarding  covering  above 
the  Tabernacle  when  the  weary  march  was  still,  recurs 
all  through  the  history  of  Old  Testament  revelation 
by  type  and  prophecy  and  ceremony,  in  which  the 
encompassing  cloud  was  comparatively  dense,  and  the 
light  which  pierced  it  relatively  faint.  It  reappears 
in  both  elements  in  Christ,  but  combined  in  new  pro- 
portions, so  as  that  *  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh,' 
is  thinned  to  transparency  and  all  aglow  with  the 
indwelling  lustre  of  manifest  Deity.  So  a  light,  set  in 
some  fair  alabaster  vase,  shines  through  its  translucent 
walls,  bringing  out  every  delicate  tint  and  meandering 
vein  of  colour,  while  itself  diffused  and  softened  by 
the  enwrapping  medium  which  it  beautifies  by  passing 
through  its  purity.  Both  are  made  visible  and  attrac- 
tive to  dull  eyes  by  the  conjunction.  'He  that  hath 
seen  Christ  hath  seen  the  Father,'  and  he  that  hath 
seen  the  Father  in  Christ  hath  seen  the  man  Christ,  as 
none  see  Him  who  are  blind  to  the  incarnate  deity 
which  illuminates  the  manhood  in  which  it  dwells. 

But  we  have  to  note  also  the  varying  appearance 
of  the  pillar  according  to  need.    There  was  a  double 


308  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.ix. 

change  in  the  pillar  according  to  the  hour,  and  ac- 
cording as  the  congregation  was  on  the  march  or 
encamped.  By  day  it  was  a  cloud,  by  night  it  glowed 
in  the  darkness.  On  the  march  it  moved  before  them, 
an  upright  pillar,  as  gathered  together  for  energetic 
movement ;  when  the  camp  rested  it '  returned  to  the 
many  thousands  of  Israel '  and  lay  quietly  stretched 
above  the  Tabernacle  like  one  of  the  long-drawn, 
motionless  clouds  above  the  setting  summer  sun, 
glowing  through  all  its  substance  with  unflashing 
radiance  reflected  from  unseen  light,  and  '  on  all  the 
glory '  (shrined  in  the  Holy  Place  beneath)  was  '  a 
defence.' 

Both  these  changes  of  aspect  symbolise  for  us  the 
reality  of  the  Protean  capacity  of  change  according 
to  our  ever-varying  needs,  which  for  our  blessing  we 
may  find  in  that  ever-changing,  unchanging,  divine 
Presence  which  will  be  our  companion,  if  we  will. 

It  was  not  only  by  a  natural  process  that,  as  day- 
light declined,  what  had  seemed  but  a  column  of 
smoke  in  the  fervid  desert  sunlight,  brightened  into 
a  column  of  fire,  blazing  amid  the  clear  stars.  But 
we  may  well  believe  in  an  actual  admeasurement  of 
the  degree  of  light,  correspondent  to  the  darkness  and 
to  the  need  for  certitude  and  cheering  sense  of  God's 
protection,  which  the  defenceless  camp  would  feel  as 
they  lay  down  to  rest. 

When  the  deceitful  brightness  of  earth  glistens  and 
dazzles  around  us,  our  vision  of  Him  may  be  '  a  cloudy 
screen  to  temper  the  deceitful  ray ' ;  and  when  '  there 
stoops  on  our  path,  in  storm  and  shade,  the  frequent 
night,'  as  earth  grows  darker,  and  life  becomes  greyer 
and  more  sombre,  and  verges  to  its  eventide,  the  pillar 
blazes  brighter  before  the  weeping  eye,  and   draws 


V.  16]  THE  GUIDING  PILLAR  309 

nearer  to  the  lonely  heart.  We  have  a  God  who 
manifests  Himself  in  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
in  flaming  fire  by  night. 

II.  Note  the  guidance  of  the  pillar. 

When  it  lifts  the  camp  marches ;  when  it  glides 
down  and  lies  motionless  the  march  is  stopped,  and 
the  tents  are  pitched.  The  main  point  which  is  dwelt 
upon  in  this  description  of  the  God-guided  pilgrimage 
of  the  wandering  people  is  the  absolute  uncertainty  in 
which  they  were  kept  ks  to  the  duration  of  their 
encampment,  and  as  to  the  time  and  circumstances  of 
their  march.  Sometimes  the  cloud  tarried  upon  the 
Tabernacle  many  days ;  sometimes  for  a  night  only ; 
sometimes  it  lifted  in  the  night.  '  Whether  it  was  by 
day  or  by  night  that  the  cloud  was  taken  up,  they 
journeyed.  Or  whether  it  were  two  days,  or  a  month, 
or  a  year  that  the  cloud  tarried  upon  the  Tabernacle, 
remaining  thereon,  the  children  of  Israel  abode  in  their 
tents,  and  journeyed  not :  but  when  it  was  taken  up 
they  journeyed.'  So  never,  from  moment  to  moment, 
did  they  know  when  the  moving  cloud  might  settle,  or 
the  resting  cloud  might  soar.  Therefore,  absolute  un- 
certainty as  to  the  next  stage  was  visibly  represented 
before  them  by  that  hovering  guide  which  determined 
everything,  and  concerning  whose  next  movement 
they  knew  absolutely  nothing. 

Is  not  that  all  true  about  us  ?  We  have  no  guiding 
cloud  like  this.  So  much  the  better.  Have  we  not  a 
more  real  guide  ?  God  guides  us  by  circumstances, 
God  guides  us  by  His  word,  God  guides  us  by  His 
Spirit,  speaking  through  our  common-sense  and  in  our 
understandings,  and,  most  of  all,  God  guides  us  by  that 
dear  Son  of  His,  in  whom  is  the  fire  and  round  whom 
is  the  cloud.    And  perhaps  we  may  even  suppose  that 


310  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.ix. 

our  Lord  implies  some  allusion  to  this  very  symbol  in 
His  own  great  words,  *  I  am  the  Light  of  the  world. 
He  that  f olloweth  Me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but 
shall  have  the  light  of  life.'  For  the  conception  of 
*  following '  the  light  seems  to  make  it  plain  that  our 
Lord's  image  is  not  that  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  or 
any  such  supernal  light,  but  that  of  some  light  which 
comes  near  enough  to  a  man  to  move  before  him,  and 
behind  which  he  can  march.  So,  I  think,  that  Christ 
Himself  laid  His  hand  upon  this  ancient  symbol,  and  in 
these  great  words  said  in  effect,  *I  am  that  which  it 
only  shadowed  and  foretold.'  At  all  events,  whether  in 
them  He  was  pointing  to  our  text  or  no,  we  must  feel 
that  He  is  the  reality  which  was  expressed  by  this 
outward  symbol.  And  no  man  who  can  say,  'Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Captain  of  my  salvation,  and  after  His 
pattern  I  march ;  at  the  pointing  of  His  guiding  finger 
I  move ;  and  in  His  footsteps.  He  being  my  helper, 
I  try  to  tread,'  need  feel  or  fancy  that  any  possible 
pillar,  floating  before  the  dullest  eye,  was  a  better, 
surer,  or  diviner  guide  than  he  possesses.  They  whom 
Christ  guides  want  none  other  for  leader,  pattern, 
counsellor,  companion,  reward.  This  Christ  is  our 
Christ  'for  ever  and  ever,  He  will  be  our  guide  even 
unto  death '  and  beyond  it.  The  pillar  that  we  follow, 
which  will  glow  with  the  ruddy  flame  of  love  in  the 
darkest  hours  of  life — blessed  be  His  name ! — will  glide 
in  front  of  us  through  the  'valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,'  brightest  then  when  the  murky  midnight  is 
blackest.  Nor  will  the  pillar  which  guides  us  cease 
to  blaze,  as  did  the  guide  of  the  desert  march,  when 
Jordan  has  been  crossed.  It  will  still  move  before  us 
on  paths  of  continuous  and  ever-increasing  approach 
to  infinite  perfection.     They  who  here  follow  Christ 


V.  16]  THE  GUIDING  PILLAR  811 

afar  off  and  with  faltering  steps  shall  there  *  follow  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth.' 

In  like  manner,  the  same  absolute  uncertainty  which 
was  intended  to  keep  the  Israelites  (though  it  failed 
often  to  do  so)  in  the  attitude  of  constant  dependence, 
is  the  condition  in  which  we  all  have  to  live,  though 
we  mask  it  from  ourselves.  That  we  do  not  know 
what  lies  before  us  is  a  commonplace.  The  same  long 
tracts  of  monotonous  continuance  in  the  same  place  and 
doing  the  same  duties  befall  us  that  befell  these  men. 
Years  pass,  and  the  pillar  spreads  itself  out,  a  defence 
above  the  unmoving  sanctuary.  And  then,  all  in  a 
flash,  when  we  are  least  thinking  of  change,  it  gathers 
itself  together,  is  a  pillar  again,  shoots  upwards,  and 
moves  forwards ;  and  it  is  for  us  to  go  after  it.  And 
so  our  lives  are  shuttlecocked  between  uniform  same- 
ness which  may  become  mechanical  monotony,  and 
agitation  by  change  which  may  make  us  lose  our  hold 
of  fixed  principles  and  calm  faith,  unless  we  recognise 
that  the  continuance  and  the  change  are  alike  the  will 
of  the  guiding  God,  whose  will  is  signified  by  the 
stationary  or  moving  pillar. 

III.  That  leads  me  to  the  last  thing  that  I  would 
note — viz.  the  docile  following  of  the  Guide. 

In  the  context,  the  writer  does  not  seem  to  be  able 
to  get  away  from  the  thought  that  whatever  the  pillar 
indicated,  immediate  prompt  obedience  followed.  He 
says  so  over  and  over  and  over  again.  '  As  long  as  the 
cloud  abode  they  rested,  and  when  the  cloud  tarried 
long  they  journeyed  not ' ;  and  '  when  the  cloud  was  a 
few  days  on  the  Tabernacle  they  abode ' ;  and  '  accord- 
ing to  the  commandment  they  journeyed ' ;  and  '  when 
the  cloud  abode  until  the  morning  they  journeyed'; 
and  *  whether  it  were  two  days,  or  a  month,  or  a  year 


312  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.ix. 

that  the  cloud  tarried  they  journeyed  not,  but  abode 
in  their  tents.'  So,  after  he  has  reiterated  the  thing 
half  a  dozen  times  or  more,  he  finishes  by  putting  it 
all  again  in  one  verse,  as  the  last  impression  which  he 
would  leave  from  the  whole  narrative — *at  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  they  rested  in  their  tents,  and 
at  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  they  journeyed.' 
Obedience  was  prompt ;  whensoever  and  for  whatso- 
ever the  signal  was  given,  the  men  were  ready.  In  the 
night,  after  they  had  had  their  tents  pitched  for  a 
long  period,  when  only  the  watchers'  eyes  were  open, 
the  pillar  lifts,  and  in  an  instant  the  alarm  is  given, 
and  all  the  camp  is  in  a  bustle.  That  is  what  we  have 
to  set  before  us  as  the  type  of  our  lives.  We  are  to  be 
as  ready  for  every  indication  of  God's  will  as  they 
were.  The  peace  and  blessedness  of  our  lives  largely 
depend  on  our  being  eager  to  obey,  and  therefore 
quick  to  perceive,  the  slightest  sign  of  motion  in  the 
resting,  or  of  rest  in  the  moving,  pillar  which  regulates 
our  march  and  our  encamping. 

What  do  we  need  in  order  to  cultivate  and  keep 
such  a  disposition  ?  We  need  perpetual  watchfulness 
lest  the  pillar  should  lift  unnoticed.  When  Nelson  was 
second  in  command  at  Copenhagen,  the  admiral  in 
command  of  the  fleet  hoisted  the  signal  for  recall,  and 
Nelson  put  his  telescope  to  his  blind  eye  and  said,  '  I 
do  not  see  it.'  That  is  very  like  what  we  are  tempted 
to  do.  When  the  signal  for  unpleasant  duties  that 
we  would  gladly  get  out  of  is  hoisted,  we  are  very 
apt  to  put  the  telescope  to  the  blind  eye,  and  pretend 
to  ourselves  that  we  do  not  see  the  fluttering  flags. 
We  need  still  more  to  keep  our  wills  in  absolute 
suspense,  if  His  will  has  not  declared  itself.  Do  not 
let  us  be  in  a  hurry  to  run  before  God.    When  the 


V.  16]  THE  GUIDING  PILLAR  313 

Israelites  were  crossing  the  Jordan,  they  were  told 
to  leave  a  great  space  between  themselves  and  the 
guiding  ark,  that  they  might  know  how  to  go,  because 
they  had  '  not  passed  that  way  heretofore.'  Impatient 
hurrying  at  God's  heels  is  apt  to  lead  us  astray.  Let 
Him  get  well  in  front,  that  you  may  be  quite  sure 
which  way  He  desires  you  to  go,  before  you  go.  And  if 
you  are  not  sure  which  way  He  desires  you  to  go,  be 
sure  that  He  does  not  at  that  moment  desire  you  to  go 
anywhere. 

We  need  to  hold  the  present  with  a  slack  hand,  so  as 
to  be  ready  to  fold  our  tents  and  take  to  the  road,  if 
God  will.  We  must  not  reckon  on  continuance,  nor 
strike  our  roots  so  deep  that  it  needs  a  hurricane  to 
remove  us.  To  those  who  set  their  gaze  on  Christ,  no 
present,  from  which  He  wishes  them  to  remove,  can  be 
so  good  for  them  as  the  new  conditions  into  which  He 
would  have  them  pass.  It  is  hard  to  leave  the  spot, 
though  it  be  in  the  desert,  where  we  have  so  long 
encamped  that  it  has  come  to  feel  like  home.  We 
may  look  with  regret  on  the  circle  of  black  ashes  on 
the  sand  where  our  little  fire  glinted  cheerily,  and  our 
feet  may  ache,  and  our  hearts  ache  more,  as  we  begin 
our  tramp  once  again,  but  we  must  set  ourselves  to 
meet  the  God-appointed  change  cheerfully,  in  the 
confidence  that  nothing  will  be  left  behind  which  it 
is  not  good  to  lose,  nor  anything  met  which  does 
not  bring  a  blessing,  however  its  first  aspect  may 
be  harsh  or  sad. 

We  need,  too,  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  prompt 
obedience.  It  is  usually  reluctance  which  puts  the 
drag  on.  Slow  obedience  is  often  the  germ  of  incipient 
disobedience.  In  matters  of  prudence  and  of  in- 
tellect, second  thoughts  are  better  than  first,  and  third 


314  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [ch.x. 

thoughts,  which  often  come  back  to  first  ones,  better 
than  second  ;  but  in  matters  of  duty,  first  thoughts  are 
generally  best.  They  are  the  instinctive  response  of 
conscience  to  the  voice  of  God,  while  second  thoughts 
are  too  often  the  objections  of  disinclination,  or  sloth, 
or  cowardice.  It  is  easiest  to  do  our  duty  when  we  are 
at  first  sure  of  it.  It  then  comes  with  an  impelling 
power  which  carries  us  over  obstacles  as  on  the  crest  of 
a  wave,  while  hesitation  and  delay  leave  us  stranded 
in  shoal  water.  If  we  would  follow  the  pillar,  we  must 
follow  it  at  once. 

A  heart  that  waits  and  watches  for  God's  direction, 
that  uses  common-sense  as  well  as  faith  to  unravel 
small  and  great  perplexities,  and  is  willing  to  sit  loose 
to  the  present,  however  pleasant,  in  order  that  it  may 
not  miss  the  indications  which  say,  '  Arise,  this  is  not 
your  rest,'  fulfils  the  conditions  on  which,  if  we  keep 
them,  we  may  be  sure  that  He  will  guide  us  by  the 
right  way,  and  bring  us  at  last  to  'the  city  of  habi- 
tation.' 


HOBAB 

'  And  Moses  said  nnto  Hobab  .  .  .  Come  thou  with  ns.  and  we  will  do  thee  good : 
for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning  Israel.'— Num.  x.  29. 

There  is  some  doubt  with  regard  to  the  identity  of 
this  Hobab.  Probably  he  was  a  man  of  about  the 
same  age  as  Moses,  his  brother-in-law,  and  a  son  of 
Jethro,  a  wily  Kenite,  a  Bedouin  Arab.  Moses  begs 
him  to  join  himself  to  his  motley  company,  and  to  be 
to  him  in  the  wilderness  *  instead  of  eyes.'  What  did 
Moses  want  a  man  for,  when  he  had  the  cloud  ?  What 
do  we  want  common-sense  for,  when  we  have  God's 


V.  29]  HOBAB  315 

Spirit?  What  do  we  want  experience  and  counsel  for, 
when  we  have  divine  guidance  promised  to  us?  The 
two  things  work  in  together.  The  cloud  led  the  march, 
but  it  was  very  well  to  have  a  man  that  knew  all  about 
the  oases  and  the  wells,  the  situation  of  which  was 
known  only  to  the  desert-born  tribes,  and  who  could 
teach  the  helpless  slaves  from  Goshen  the  secrets  of 
camp  life.  So  Moses  pressed  Hobab  to  change  his 
position,  to  break  with  his  past,  and  to  launch  himself 
into  an  altogether  new  and  untried  sort  of  life. 

And  what  does  he  plead  with  him  as  the  reason? 
•  We  will  do  thee  good,  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good 
concerning  Israel.'  Probably  Hobab  looked  rather  shy 
at  the  security,  for  I  suppose  he  was  no  worshipper  of 
Jehovah,  and  he  said,  *  No ;  I  had  rather  go  home  to 
my  own  people  and  my  own  kindred  and  my  father's 
house  where  I  fit  in,  and  keep  to  my  own  ways,  and 
have  something  a  little  more  definite  to  lay  hold  of 
than  your  promise,  or  the  promise  of  your  Jehovah 
that  lies  behind  it.  These  are  not  solid,  and  I  am 
going  back  to  my  tribe.'  But  Moses  pressed  and  he  at 
last  consented,  and  the  following  verses  suggest  that 
the  arrangement  was  made  satisfactorily,  and  that  the 
joumeyings  began  prosperously.  In  the  Book  of  Judges 
we  find  traces  of  the  presence  of  Hobab's  descendants  as 
incorporated  among  the  people  of  Israel.  One  of  them 
came  to  be  somebody,  the  Jael  who  struck  the  tent-peg 
through  the  temples  of  the  sleeping  Sisera,  for  she  is 
called  '  the  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite.'  Probably,  then, 
in  some  sense  Hobab  must  have  become  a  worshipper 
of  Jehovah,  and  have  cast  in  his  lot  with  his  brother- 
in-law  and  his  people.  I  do  not  set  Hobab  up  as  a 
shining  example.  We  do  not  know  much  about  his 
religion.     But  it  seems  to  me  that  this  little  glimpse 


316  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [oh.x. 

into  a  long-forgotten  and  unimportant  life  may  teach 
us  two  or  three  things  about  the  venture  of  faith,  the 
life  of  faith,  and  the  reward  of  faith. 

I.  The  venture  of  faith. 

I  have  already  said  that  Hobab  had  nothing  in 
the  world  to  trust  to  except  Moses'  word,  and  Moses' 
report  of  God's  Word.  *  We  will  do  you  good ;  God  has 
said  that  He  will  do  good  to  us,  and  you  shall  have 
your  share  in  it.'  It  was  a  grave  thing,  and,  in  many 
circumstances,  would  have  been  a  supremely  foolish 
thing,  credulous  to  the  verge  of  insanity,  to  risk  all  upon 
the  mere  promise  of  one  in  Moses'  position,  who  had  so 
little  in  his  own  power  with  which  to  fulfil  the  promise ; 
and  who  referred  him  to  an  unseen  divinity,  some- 
where or  other;  and  so  drew  bills  upon  heaven  and 
futurity,  and  did  not  feel  himself  at  all  bound  to  pay 
them  when  they  fell  due,  unless  God  should  give  him 
the  cash  to  do  it  with.  But  Hobab  took  the  plunge,  he 
ventured  all  upon  these  two  promises — Moses'  word, 
and  God's  word  that  underlay  it. 

Now  that  is  just  what  we  have  to  do.  For,  after  all 
talking  about  reasons  for  belief,  and  evidences  of 
religion,  and  all  the  rest  of  it,  it  all  comes  to  this  at 
last — will  you  risk  everything  on  Jesus  Christ's  bare 
word?  There  are  plenty  of  reasons  for  doing  so,  but 
what  I  wish  to  bring  out  is  this,  that  the  living  heart 
and  root  of  true  Christianity  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  the  absolute  and  utter  reliance  upon  nothing  else 
but  Christ,  and  therefore  on  His  word.  He  did  not 
even  condescend  to  give  reasons  for  that  reliance,  for 
His  most  solemn  assurance  was  just  this, '  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you.'  That  is  as  much  as  to  say,  '  If  you  do 
not  see  in  Me,  without  any  more  argument,  reason 
enough  for  believing  Me,  you  do  not  see  Me  at  all.' 


V.  29]  HOBAB  817 

Christ  did  not  argue — He  asserted,  and  in  default  of  all 
other  proof,  if  I  might  venture  to  say  so.  He  put  His 
own  personality  into  the  scales  and  said,  '  There,  that 
will  outweigh  everything.'  So  no  wonder  that  '  they 
were  astonished  at  His  doctrine,' — not  so  much  at  the 
substance  of  it  as  at  the  tone  of  it,  *  for  He  taught  them 
with  authority.' 

But  what  right  had  He  to  teach  them  with  authority? 
What  right  has  He  to  present  Himself  there  in  front  of 
us  and  proclaim,  '  I  say  unlo  you,  and  there  is  an  end  of 
it'?  The  heart  and  essence  of  Christian  faith  is  doing, 
in  afar  sublimer  fashion,  precisely  what  this  wild  Arab 
did,  when  he  uprooted  himself  from  the  conditions  in 
which  his  life  had  grown  up,  and  flung  himself  into  an 
unknown  future,  on  bare  trust  in  a  bare  word.  Jesus 
Christ  asks  us  to  do  the  same  by  Him.  Whether  His 
word  comes  to  us  revealing,  or  commanding,  or  pro- 
mising, it  is  absolute,  and,  for  His  true  followers,  ends 
all  controversy,  all  hesitation,  all  reluctance.  When 
He  commands  it  is  ours  to  obey  and  live.  And  when 
He  promises  it  is  for  us  to  twine  all  the  tendrils 
of  our  expectations  round  that  faithful  word,  and  by 
faith  to  make  '  the  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and  stead- 
fast.' The  venture  of  faith  takes  a  word  for  the  most 
solid  thing  in  the  universe,  and  the  Incarnate  Word 
of  God  for  the  basis  of  all  our  hope,  the  authority 
for  all  our  conduct,  'the  Master-light  of  all  our 
seeing.' 

II.  Hobab  suggests  to  us,  secondly — 

The  sort  of  life  that  follows  the  venture  of  faith. 

The  hindrances  to  his  joining  Moses  were  plainly  put 
by  himself.  He  said  in  effect,  '  I  will  not  come  ;  I  will 
depart  to  mine  own  land  and  to  my  kindred.  Why 
should  I  attach  myself  to  a  horde  of  strangers,  and  go 


318  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [oh.x. 

wandering  about  the  desert  for  the  rest  of  my  life, 
looking  out  for  encampments  for  them,  when  I  can 
return  to  where  I  have  been  all  my  days ;  and  be  sur- 
rounded by  the  familiar  atmosphere  of  friends  and 
relatives  ? '  But  he  bethought  himself  that  there  was  a 
nobler  life  to  live  than  that,  and  because  he  was  stirred 
by  the  impulse  of  reliance  on  Moses  and  his  promise, 
and  perhaps  by  some  germ  of  reliance  on  Moses'  God, 
he  finally  said,  '  The  die  is  cast.  I  choose  my  side.  I 
will  break  with  the  past.  I  turn  my  back  on  kindred 
and  home.  Here  I  draw  a  broad  line  across  the  page, 
and  begin  over  again  in  an  altogether  new  kind  of  life. 
I  identify  myself  with  these  wanderers ;  sharing  their 
fortunes,  hoping  to  share  their  prosperity,  and  taking 
their  God  for  my  God.'  He  had  perhaps  not  been  a 
nomad  before,  for  there  still  are  permanent  settlements 
as  well  as  nomad  encampments  in  Arabia,  as  there  were 
in  those  days,  and  he  and  his  relatives,  from  the  few 
facts  that  we  know  of  them,  seem  to  have  had  a  fixed 
home,  with  a  very  narrow  zone  of  wandering  round  it. 
So  Hobab,  an  old  man  probably,  if  he  was  anything 
like  the  age  of  his  connection  by  marriage,  Moses,  who 
was  eighty  at  this  time,  makes  up  his  mind  to  begin  a 
new  career. 

Now  that  is  what  we  have  to  do.  If  we  have 
faith  in  Christ  and  His  promise,  we  shall  not  say, 
'  I  am  going  back  to  my  kindred  and  to  my  home.' 
We  shall  be  prepared  to  accept  the  conditions  of 
a  wanderer's  life.  We  shall  recognise  and  feel,  far 
more  than  we  ever  have  done,  that  we  are  indeed 
'  pilgrims  and  sojourners '  here.  Dear  Christian  friends, 
we  have  no  business  to  call  ourselves  Christ's  men, 
unless  the  very  characteristic  of  our  lives  is  that  we 
are  drawn  ever  forward  by  the  prospect  of  future 


V.  29]  HOBAB  819 

good,  and  unless  that  future  is  a  great  deal  more  solid 
and  more  operative  upon  us,  and  tells  more  on  our 
lives,  than  this  intrusive,  solid-seeming  present  that 
thrusts  itself  between  us  and  our  true  home.  That  is  a 
sure  saying.  The  Christian  obligation  to  live  a  life  of 
detachment,  even  while  diligent  in  duty,  is  not  to  be 
brushed  aside  as  pulpit  rhetoric  and  exaggeration,  but 
it  is  the  plainest  teaching  of  the  New  Testament.  I 
wish  it  was  a  little  more  exemplified  in  the  daily  life  of 
the  people  who  call  themselves  Christians. 

If  I  am  not  living  for  the  unseen  and  the  future, 
what  right  have  I  to  say  that  I  am  Christ's  at  all? 
If  the  shadows  are  more  than  the  substance  to  me ;  if 
this  condensed  vapour  and  fog  that  we  call  reality  has 
not  been  to  our  apprehension  thinned  away  into  the 
unsubstantial  mist  that  it  is,  what  have  the  principles 
of  Christianity  done  for  us,  and  what  worth  is  Christ's 
word  to  us  ?  If  I  believe  Him,  the  world  is — I  do 
not  say,  as  the  sentimental  poet  put  it,  '  but  a  fleeting 
show,  for  man's  illusion  given ' ; — but  as  Paul  puts  it,  a 
glass  which  may  either  reveal  or  obscure  the  realities 
beyond ;  and  according  as  we  look  at,  or  look  through, 
•  the  things  seen  and  temporal,'  do  we  see,  or  miss,  *  the 
things  unseen  and  eternal.'  So,  then,  the  life  of  faith 
has  for  its  essential  characteristic — because  it  is  a  life 
of  reliance  on  Christ's  bare  word — that  future  good  is 
consciously  its  supreme  aim.  That  will  detach  us,  as  it 
did  Hobab,  from  home  and  kindred,  and  make  us  feel 
that  we  are  *  pilgrims  and  sojourners.' 

III.  Lastly,  our  story  suggests  to  us — 

The  rewards  of  faith. 

'  Come  with  us,'  says  Moses  ;  •  we  are  journeying  unto 
the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I  will  give  it  you. 
Come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  what  goodness 


320  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [ch.x. 

the  Lord  shall  do  unto  us.'  He  went,  and  neither  he 
nor  Moses  ever  saw  the  land,  or  at  least  never  set  their 
feet  on  it.  Moses  saw  it  from  Pisgah,  but  probably 
Hobab  did  not  even  get  so  much  as  that. 

So  he  had  all  his  tramping  through  the  wilderness, 
and  all  his  work,  for  nothing,  had  he  ?  Had  he  not 
better  have  gone  back  to  Midian,  and  made  use  of  the 
present  reality,  than  followed  a  will-of-the-wisp  that 
led  him  into  a  bog,  if  he  got  none  of  the  good  that  he 
set  out  expecting  to  get  ?  Then,  did  he  make  a  mistake  ? 
Would  he  have  been  a  wiser  man  if  he  had  stuck  to  his 
first  refusal?  Surely  not.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
very  fact  of  this  great  promise  being  given  to  this  old 
— dare  I  call  Hobab  a  '  saint '  ? — to  this  old  saint,  and 
never  being  fulfilled  at  all  in  this  world,  compels  us  to 
believe  that  there  was  some  gleam  of  hope,  and  of 
certainty,  of  a  future  life,  even  in  these  earliest  days 
of  dim  and  partial  revelation. 

To  me  it  is  very  illuminative,  and  very  beautiful,  that 
the  dying  Jacob  bursts  in  his  song  into  a  sudden  ex- 
clamation, '  I  have  waited  for  Thy  salvation,  O  Lord ! ' 
It  is  as  if  he  had  felt  that  all  his  life  long  he  had  been 
looking  for  what  had  never  come,  and  that  it  could  not 
be  that  God  was  going  to  let  him  go  down  to  the  grave 
and  never  grasp  the  good  that  he  had  been  waiting  for 
all  his  days.  We  may  apply  substantially  the  same 
thoughts  to  Hobab,  and  to  all  his  like,  and  may  turn 
them  to  our  own  use,  and  argue  that  the  imperfections 
of  the  consequences  of  our  faith  here  on  earth  are 
themselves  evidences  of  a  future,  where  all  that  Christ 
has  said  shall  be  more  than  fulfilled,  and  no  man  will 
be  able  to  say,  *  Thou  didst  send  me  out,  deluding  me 
with  promises  which  have  all  gone  to  water  and  have 
failed.' 


V.  29]  WORK  AND  REST  321 

Hobab  dying  there  in  the  desert  had  made  the  right 
choice,  and  if  we  will  trust  ourselves  to  Christ  and  His 
faithful  word,  and,  trusting  to  Him,  will  feel  that  we 
are  detached  from  the  present  and  that  it  is  but  as  the 
shadow  of  a  cloud,  whatever  there  may  be  wanting  in 
the  results  of  our  faith  here  on  earth,  there  will  be 
nothing  wanting  in  its  results  at  the  last.  Hobab  did 
not  regret  his  venture,  and  no  man  ever  ventures  his 
faith  on  Christ  and  is  disappointed.  *  He  that  believeth 
shall  not  be  confounded.'  • 


THE  HALLOWING  OF  WORK  AND  OF  REST 

'And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  ark  set  forward,  that  Moses  said,  Hise  np,  Lord, 
and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered ;  and  let  them  that  hate  Thee  flee  before  Thee. 
36.  And  when  it  rested,  he  said.  Return,  O  Lord,  unto  the  many  thousands  of 
Israel.'— Num.  x.  36,  36. 

The  picture  suggested  by  this  text  is  a  very  striking 
and  vivid  one.  We  see  the  bustle  of  the  morning's 
breaking  up  of  the  encampment  of  Israel.  The  pillar 
of  cloud,  which  had  lain  diffused  and  motionless  over 
the  Tabernacle,  gathers  itself  together  into  an  upright 
shaft,  and  moves,  a  dark  blot  against  the  glittering 
blue  sky,  the  sunshine  masking  its  central  fire,  to  the 
front  of  the  encampment.  Then  the  priests  take  up 
the  ark,  the  symbol  of  the  divine  Presence,  and  fall  into 
place  behind  the  guiding  pillar.  Then  come  the  stir 
of  the  ordering  of  the  ranks,  and  a  naoment's  pause, 
during  which  the  leader  lifts  his  voice — 'Rise,  Lord, 
and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered,  and  let  them  that 
hate  Thee  flee  before  Thee.'  Then,  with  braced  resolve 
and  confident  hearts,  the  tribes  set  forward  on  the  day's 
march. 


322  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.x 

Long  after  those  desert  days  a  psalmist  laid  hold  of 
the  old  prayer  and  offered  it,  as  not  antiquated  yet  by 
the  thousand  years  that  had  intervened.  'Let  God 
arise,  and  let  His  enemies  be  scattered,'  prayed  one  of 
the  later  psalmists;  'let  them  that  hate  Him  flee  before 
Him.'  We,  too,  in  circumstances  so  different,  may  take 
up  the  immortal  though  ancient  words,  on  which  no 
dimming  rust  of  antiquity  has  encrusted  itself,  and  may, 
at  the  beginnings  and  the  endings  of  all  our  efforts  and 
of  each  of  our  days,  and  at  the  beginning  and  ending 
of  life  itself,  offer  this  old  prayer — the  prayer  which 
asked  for  a  divine  presence  in  the  incipiency  of  our 
efforts,  and  the  prayer  which  asked  for  a  divine  pres- 
ence in  the  completion  of  our  work  and  in  the  rest  that 
remaineth. 

L  So,  then,  if  we  put  these  two  petitions  together, 
I  think  we  shall  see  in  them  first,  a  pattern  of  that 
realisation  of,  and  aspiration  after,  the  divine  Presence, 
which  ought  to  fill  all  our  lives. 

'  Rise,  Lord,  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered.' 

But  was  not  that  moving  pillar  the  token  that  God 
had  risen  ?  And  was  not  the  psalmist  who  reiterated 
Moses'  prayer  asking  for  what  had  been  done  before 
he  asked  it  ?  Was  not  the  ark  the  symbol  of  the  divine 
Presence,  and  was  not  its  movement  after  the  pillar  a 
pledge  to  the  whole  host  of  Israel  that  the  petition 
which  they  were  offering,  through  their  leader's  lips, 
was  granted  ere  it  was  offered?  Yes.  And  yet  the 
present  God  would  not  manifest  His  Presence  except  in 
response  to  the  desire  of  His  servants;  and  just  because 
the  ark  was  the  symbol,  and  that  moving  column  was 
the  guarantee  of  God's  being  with  the  host  as  their 
defence,  therefore  there  rose  up  with  confidence  this 
prayer, '  Bise,  Lord,  and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered.' 


▼8.35,36]  WORK  AND  REST  323 

That  twofold  attitude,  the  realisation  of,  and  there- 
fore the  aspiration  after,  the  divine  gifts,  which  are 
given  before  they  are  desired,  but  are  not  appropriated 
and  brought  into  operation  in  our  lives  unless  they 
are  desired,  is  precisely  the  paradox  of  the  Christian 
life.  Having,  we  long  for,  and  longing,  we  have,  and 
because  we  possess  God  we  pray.  '  Oh !  that  we  might 
possess  Thee.'  The  more  we  long,  the  more  we  receive. 
But  unless  He  gave  Himself  in  anticipation  of  our 
longing,  there  would  be  neither  longing  nor  reception. 
Only  on  condition  of  our  desiring  to  have  Him  does 
He  flow  into  our  lives,  victorious  and  strength-giving, 
and  the  more  we  experience  that  omnipotent  might 
and  calming,  guiding  nearness,  the  more  assuredly  we 
shall  long  for  it. 

Let  us  then,  dear  brethren,  blend  these  two  things 
together,  for  indeed  they  are  inseparable  one  from  the 
other,  and  there  can  be  no  real  experience  in  any  depth 
of  the  one  of  them  without  the  other.  Blessed  be  God  I 
there  need  be  no  long  interval  of  waiting  between 
sowing  the  seed  of  supplication  and  reaping  the  harvest 
of  fruition.  That  process  of  growth  and  reaping  goes 
on  with  instantaneous  rapidity.  *  Before  they  call  I  will 
answer,'  for  pillar  and  ark  were  there  ere  Moses  opened 
his  lips  ;  and  *  while  they  are  yet  speaking  I  will  hear,' 
for,  in  response  to  the  cry,  the  host  moved  triumph- 
antly, guarded  through  the  wilderness.  So  it  may  be, 
and  ought  to  be,  with  each  of  us. 

In  like  manner,  coupling  these  two  petitions  together, 
and  taking  them  as  unitedly  covering  the  whole  field  of 
life  in  their  great  antitheses  of  work  and  rest,  effort  and 
accomplishment,  beginning  and  ending,  morning  and 
evening,  we  may  say  that  here  is  an  example,  to  be  ap- 
propriated in  our  own  lives,  of  that  continuous  longing 


324  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [ch.x. 

and  realisation  which  will  encircle  all  life  as  with  a 
golden  ring,  and  make  every  part  of  it  uniform  and 
blessed.  To  begin,  continue,  and  end  with  God  is  the 
secret  of  joyful  beginning,  of  patient  continuance,  and 
of  triumphant  ending.  There  is  no  reason  in  heaven, 
though  there  are  hosts  of  excuses  on  earth,  why  there 
should  not  be,  in  the  case  of  each  of  us,  an  absolutely 
continuous  and  uninterrupted  sense  of  being  with  God. 
O  brethren!  that  is  a  stage  of  Christian  experience 
high  above  the  one  on  which  most  of  us  stand.  But 
that  is  our  fault,  and  not  the  necessity  of  our  condi- 
tion. Let  us  lay  this  to  heart,  that  it  is  possible  to 
have  the  pillar  always  guiding  our  march,  and  possible 
to  have  it  stretching,  calm  and  motionless,  over  all  our 
hours  of  rest. 

II.  Now,  if,  turning  from  the  lessons  to  be  drawn 
from  these  two  petitions,  taken  in  conjunction,  we 
look  at  them  separately,  we  may  say  that  we  have 
here  an  example  of  the  spirit  in  which  we  should  set 
ourselves,  day  by  day,  and  at  each  new  epoch  and 
beginning,  be  it  greater  or  smaller,  to  every  task. 

There  are  truths  that  underlie  that  first  prayer, 
'  Rise  up.  Lord,  and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered,' 
which  are  of  perennial  validity,  and  apply  to  us  as 
truly  as  to  these  warriors  of  God  in  the  wilderness 
long  centuries  ago.  The  first  of  them  is  that  the 
divine  Presence  is  the  source  of  all  energy,  and  of 
successful  endeavour  after,  and  accomplishment  of, 
any  duty.  The  second  of  them  is  that  that  presence  is, 
as  I  have  been  saying,  granted,  in  its  operative  power, 
only  on  condition  of  its  being  sought.  And  the  third 
of  them  is  that  I  have  a  right  to  identify  my  enemies 
with  God's  only  on  condition  that  I  have  made  His  cause 
mine.     When  Moses  prayed,   'Let  Thine  enemies  bo 


vB.  35, 36]  WORK  AND  REST  325 

scattered,'  he  meant  by  these  the  hostile  nomad  tribes 
that  might  ring  Israel  round,  and  come  down  like  a 
sandstorm  upon  them  at  any  moment.  What  right 
had  he  to  suppose  that  the  people  whose  lances  and 
swords  threatened  the  motley  host  that  he  was  leading 
through  the  wilderness  were  God's  enemies  ?  Only  this 
right,  that  his  host  had  consented  to  be  God's  soldiers, 
and  that  they  having  thus  made  His  enemies  theirs, 
He,  on  His  part,  was  sure  to  make  their  enemies  His. 
We  are  often  tempted  to 'identify  our  foes  with  God's, 
without  having  taken  the  preliminary  step  of  having 
so  yielded  ourselves  to  be  His  servants  and  instruments 
for  carrying  forward  His  will,  as  that  our  own  wills 
have  become  a  vanishing  quantity,  or  rather  have  been 
ennobled  and  greatened  in  proportion  as  they  have 
been  moulded  in  submission  to  His.  We  must  take 
God's  cause  for  ours,  in  all  the  various  aspects  of  that 
phrase.  And  that  means,  first  of  all,  that  we  make  our 
own  perfecting  into  the  likeness  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
main  aim  of  our  own  lives  and  efforts.  It  means, 
further,  the  putting  ourselves  bravely  and  manfully  on 
the  side  of  right  and  truth  and  justice,  in  all  their 
forms.  Above  all,  it  means  that  we  give  ourselves  to 
be  God's  instruments  in  carrying  on  His  great  purposes 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world  through  Jesus  Christ. 
If  we  do  these  things,  whatever  obstacles  may  arise 
in  our  paths,  we  may  be  sure  that  these  are  God's  an- 
tagonists, because  they  are  antagonists  to  God's  work 
in  and  by  us. 

Only  in  so  far  as  they  are  such,  can  you  pray,  *  Let 
them  flee  before  Thee !  *  Many  of  the  things  that  we 
call  our  enemies  come  to  us  disguised,  and  are  mistaken 
by  our  superficial  sight,  and  we  do  not  know  that  they 
are  friends.     'All  things  work  together  for  good  to 


326  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [ch.x. 

them  that  love  God.'  And,  when  we  desire  His  Pre- 
sence, the  hindrances  to  doing  His  will — which  are  the 
only  real  enemies  that  we  have  to  fight — will  melt 
away  before  His  power,  •  as  wax  melteth '  before  the 
ardours  of  the  fire ;  and,  for  the  rest,  the  distresses,  the 
difficulties,  the  sorrows,  and  all  the  other  things  that 
we  so  often  think  are  our  foes,  we  shall  find  out  to 
have  been  our  friends.  Make  God's  cause  yours,  and 
He  will  make  your  cause  His. 

That  applies  to  the  great  things  of  life,  and  to  the 
little  things.  I  begin  my  day's  work  some  morning, 
perhaps  wearied,  perhaps  annoyed  with  a  multiplicity 
of  trifles  which  seem  too  small  to  bring  great  principles 
to  bear  upon  them.  But  do  you  not  think  there  would 
be  a  strange  change  wrought  in  the  petty  annoyances  of 
every  day,  and  in  the  small  trifles  of  which  all  our  lives, 
of  whatever  texture  they  are,  must  largely  be  com- 
posed, if  we  began  each  day  and  each  task  with  that  old 
prayer, ' Rise,  Lord,  and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered'? 
Do  you  not  think  there  would  come  a  quiet  into  our 
hearts,  and  a  victorious  peace  to  which  we  are  too 
much  strangers?  If  we  carried  the  assurance  that 
there  is  One  that  fights  for  us,  into  the  trifles  as  well  as 
into  the  sore  struggles  of  our  lives,  we  should  have 
peace  and  victory.  Most  of  us  will  not  have  many 
large  occasions  of  trial  and  conflict  in  our  career ;  and, 
if  God's  fighting  for  us  is  not  available  in  regard  to  the 
small  annoyances  of  home  and  daily  life,  I  know  not 
for  what  it  is  available.  '  Many  littles  make  a  mickle,* 
and  there  are  more  deaths  in  skirmishes  than  in  the 
field  of  a  pitched  battle.  More  Christian  people  lose 
their  hold  of  God,  their  sense  of  His  presence,  and  are 
beaten  accordingly,  by  reason  of  the  little  enemies 
that  come  down  on  them,  like  a  cloud  of  gnats  in  a 


vs.  35, 36]  WORK  AND  REST  827 

summer  evening,  than  are  defeated  by  the  shock  of  a 
great  assault  or  a  great  temptation,  which  calls  out 
their  strength,  and  sends  them  to  their  knees  to  ask  for 
help  from  God. 

So  we  may  learn  from  this  prayer  the  spirit  of  ex- 
pectance of  victory  which  is  not  presumption,  and  of 
consecration,  which  alone  will  enable  us  to  pass  through 
life  victorious.  *  Be  of  good  cheer,'  said  the  Master,  as 
if  in  answer  to  this  prayer  in  its  Christian  form — •  I 
have  overcome  the  worid.'  We  turn  to  the  helmed 
and  sworded  Figure  that  stands  mysteriously  beside 
us  whilst  we  are  all  unaware  of  His  coming,  and  the 
swift  question  that  Joshua  put  rises  to  our  lips,  '  Art 
Thou  for  us  or  for  our  adversaries?'  The  reply  comes, 
*  Nay !  but  as  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host  am  I  come 
up.'  That  is  Christ's  answer  to  the  prayer,  'Rise, 
Lord,  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered.' 

III.  Lastly,  we  have  here  a  pattern  of  the  temper  for 
hours  of  repose. 

'  When  the  ark  rested,  he  said,  "  Return,  O  Lord,  unto 
the  many  thousands  of  Israel." '  As  I  said  at  the  begin- 
ning of  these  remarks,  the  pillar  of  cloud  seems  to  have 
taken  two  forms,  braced  together  upright  when  it 
moved,  diffused  and  stretched  as  a  shelter  and  a  cover- 
ing over  the  host  of  Israel  when  it  and  they  were  at 
rest.  In  like  manner,  that  divine  Presence  is  Protean 
in  its  forms,  and  takes  all  shapes,  according  to  the 
moment's  necessities  of  the  Christian  trusting  heart. 
When  we  are  to  brace  ourselves  for  the  march  it  con- 
denses itself  into  an  upright  and  moving  guide.  When 
we  lay  ourselves  down  with  relaxed  muscles  for  re- 
pose, it  softly  expands  itself  and  '  covers  our  head  *  in 
the  hours  of  rest,  *  as  in  the  day  of  battle.' 

Ah !  brother,  we  have  more  need  of  God  in  times  of 


328  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS      [ch.x. 

repose  than  in  times  of  effort.  It  is  harder  to  realise 
His  Presence  in  the  brief  hours  of  relaxation  than  even 
in  the  many  hours  of  strenuous  toil.  Every  one  who 
goes  for  a  holiday  knows  that.  You  have  only  to  look 
at  the  sort  of  amusements  that  most  people  fly  to  when 
they  have  not  anything  to  do,  to  see  that  there  is  quite 
as  much,  if  not  more,  peril  to  communion  of  soul  with 
God  in  times  when  the  whole  nature  is  somewhat 
relaxed,  and  the  strings  are  loosened,  like  those  of  a 
violin  screwed  down  a  turn  or  two  of  the  peg,  than 
there  is  in  times  of  work. 

So  let  us  take  special  care  of  our  hours  of  repose,  and 
be  quite  sure  that  they  are  so  spent  as  that  we  can  ask 
when  the  day's  work  is  done,  and  we  have  come  to 
slippered  ease,  in  preparation  for  nightly  rest,  *  Return, 
O  Lord,  unto  Thy  waiting  servant.'  Work  without  God 
unfits  for  rest  with  Him.  Rest  without  God  unfits  for 
work  for  Him. 

We  may  take  these  two  petitions  as  tests  of  the 
allowableness  of  any  occupation,  or  of  any  relaxation. 
Dare  I  ask  Him  to  come  with  me  into  that  field  of 
work  ?  If  I  dare  not,  it  is  no  place  for  me.  Dare  I  ask 
Him  to  come  with  me  into  this  other  chamber  of  rest  ? 
If  I  dare  not,  I  had  better  never  cross  its  threshold. 
Take  these  two  prayers,  and  where  you  cannot  pray 
them,  do  not  risk  yourself. 

But  the  highest  form  of  the  contrast  between  the 
two  waits  still  to  be  realised.  For  life  as  a  whole  is  a 
fight,  and  beyond  it  there  is  the  '  rest  that  remaineth,' 
where  there  will  be  not  merely  God's  '  return  unto  the 
thousands  of  Israel,'  but  the  realisation  of  His  fuller 
presence,  and  of  deeper  rest,  which  shall  be  wondrously 
associated  with  more  intense  work,  though  in  that 
work  there  will  be  no  conflict.     The  two  petitions  will 


vs.  35,36]       MOSES  DESPONDENT  329 

flow  together  then,  for  whilst  we  labour  we  shall  rest ; 
and  whilst  we  rest  we  shall  labour,  according  to  the 
great  sayings,  'they  rest  from  their  labours,'  and  yet 
•  they  rest  not  day  nor  night.* 


MOSES  DESPONDENT 

'I  am  not  able  to  bear  all  this  people  alone,  because  it  is  too  heavy  for  me.' 

Num.  xi.  14. 

Detail  the  circumstances'. 

The  leader  speaks  the  truth  in  his  despondency.  He 
is  pressed  with  the  feeling  of  his  incapacity  for  his 
work.  We  may  take  his  words  here  as  teaching  us 
what  men  need  in  him  who  is  to  be  their  guide,  and 
how  impossible  it  is  to  find  what  they  need  in  mere 
men. 

I.  What  men  need  in  their  guide. 

These  Israelites  were  wandering  in  the  wilderness ; 
they  were  without  natural  supplies  for  their  daily 
necessities ;  they  had  a  long  hard  journey  before  them, 
an  unknown  road,  at  the  terminus  of  which  was  a  land 
where  they  should  rest.  We  have  precisely  the  same 
necessities  as  those  which  Moses  despairingly  said  that 
they  had. 

Like  them,  we  wander  hungry,  and  need  a  Leader  who 
can  satisfy  our  desires  and  evermore  give  us  bread  for 
our  souls  even  more  than  for  our  bodies.  We  need  One 
to  whom  we  can  •  weep,'  as  the  Israelites  did  to  Moses, 
and  not  weep  in  vain.  We  need  One  who  can  do  for  us 
what  Moses  felt  that  the  Israelites  needed,  and  that  he 
could  not  give  them,  when  he  almost  indignantly  put 
to  God  the  despairing  question,  '  Can  I  carry  them  in 
my  bosom  as  a  nursing  father  beareth  the  sucking 
child?'      Our    weakness,    our   ignorance,    our   heart- 


330  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS       [ch.xi. 

hunger,  cry  out  for  One  who  can  '  bear  all  this  people 
alone,'  who  in  his  single  Self  has  resources  of  strength, 
wisdom,  and  sufficiency  to  meet  not  only  the  wants  of 
one  soul  but  those  of  the  world.  For  He  who  can 
satisfy  the  poorest  single  soul  must  be  able  to  satisfy 
all  men. 

II.  The  impossibility  of  finding  this  in  men. 

Moses'  experience  here  is  that  of  all  leaders  and  great 
men.  He  is  overwhelmed  with  the  work ;  feels  his 
own  utter  impotence ;  has  himself  to  be  strengthened ; 
loathes  his  work ;  longs  for  release  from  it.  See  how 
he  confesses 

His  human  dependence. 

His  incapacity  to  do  and  be  what  is  needed. 

His  impatience  with  the  people. 

His  longing  to  be  rid  of  it  all. 

That  is  a  true  picture  of  the  experience  of  the  best 
of  men — a  true  picture  of  the  limitations  of  the  noblest 
leaders. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  leaders  who  confess  their 
inadequacy,  but  the  followers  feel  it,  for  even  the  most 
enthusiastic  of  them  come  sooner  or  later  to  find  that 
their  Oracle  had  not  learned  all  wisdom,  nor  was  fit  to 
be  taken  as  sole  guide,  much  less  as  sole  defence  or 
satisfaction.  He  who  looks  to  find  all  that  he  needs  in 
men  must  take  many  men  to  find  it,  and  no  multiplicity 
of  men  will  bring  him  what  he  seeks.  The  Milky  Way 
is  no  substitute  for  the  sun.  Our  hearts  cry  out  for 
One  great  light,  for  One  spacious  home.  Endless  strings 
of  pearls  do  not  reach  the  preciousness  of  One  pearl 
of  price. 

III.  The  failures  of  human  leaders  prophesy  the  true 
Leader. 

Moses  was  prophetic  of  Christ  by  his  failures  as  by 


V.  U]  MOSES  DESPONDENT  831 

his  successes.  He  could  not  do  what  the  people 
clamoured  to  have  done,  and  what  he  in  the  mood  of 
despair  in  which  the  text  shows  him,  sadly  owned  that 
he  could  not.  In  that  very  confession  he  becomes  an 
unconscious  prophet.  For  that  he  should  have  so 
vividly  set  forth  the  qualifications  of  a  leader  of  men,  as 
defined  by  the  people's  cries,  and  should  have  so  bitterly 
felt  his  incapacity  to  supply  them,  is  a  witness,  if  there 
is  a  God  at  all,  that  somewhere  the  needed  Ideal  will 
be  realised  in  *  a  Leader  and  Commander  of  the  people,' 
God-sent  and  '  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses.' 

The  best  service  that  all  human  leaders,  helpers  or 
lovers,  can  do  us,  is  to  confess  their  own  insufficiency, 
and  to  point  us  to  Jesus. 

All  that  men  need  is  found  in  Him  and  in  Him  alone. 
All  that  men  have  failed,  and  must  always  fail,  to  be, 
He  is.  Those  eyes  are  blessed  that  *  see  no  man  any 
more  save  Jesus  only.'  We  need  One  who  can  satisfy 
our  desires  and  fill  our  hungry  souls,  and  Jesus  speaks 
a  promise,  confirmed  by  the  experience  of  all  who  have 
tested  it  when  He  declares :  *  He  that  cometh  unto  Me 
shall  never  hunger.'  We  need  One  who  will  dry  our 
tears,  and  Jesus,  when  He  says  '  Weep  not,'  wipes  them 
away  and  stanches  their  sources,  giving  *  the  oil  of  joy 
for  mourning.'  We  need  One  who  can  hold  us  up  in 
our  journey,  and  minister  strength  to  fainting  hearts 
and  vigour  to  weary  feet,  and  Jesus  'strengthens  us 
with  might  in  the  inner  man.'  We  need  One  who  will 
bring  us  to  the  promised  land  of  rest,  and  Jesus  brings 
many  sons  to  glory,  and  wills  that  they  be  'with 
Him  where  He  is.'  So  let  us  turn  away  from  the 
multiplicity  of  human  insufficiencies  to  Him  who  is  our 
one  only  help  and  hope,  because  He  is  all-sufi&cient  and 
eternal. 


AFRAID  OF  GIANTS 

'  And  Moses  sent  them  to  spy  out  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  said  unto  them,  Get 
you  up  this  way  southward,  and  go  up  into  the  mountain :  18.  And  see  the  land, 
what  it  is ;  and  the  people  that  dwelleth  therein,  whether  they  be  strong  or  weak, 
few  or  many ;  19.  And  what  the  land  is  that  they  dwell  in,  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad ;  and  what  cities  they  be  that  they  dwell  in,  whether  in  tents,  or  in  strong 
holds ;  20.  And  what  the  land  is,  whether  it  be  fat  or  lean,  whether  there  bo  wood 
therein,  or  not.  And  be  ye  of  good  courage,  and  bring  of  the  fruit  of  the  land. 
Now  the  time  was  the  time  of  the  firstrlpe  grapes.  21.  So  they  went  up,  and 
searched  the  land  from  the  wilderness  of  Zin  unto  Rehob,  as  men  come  to  Hamath. 
22.  And  they  ascended  by  the  south,  and  came  unto  Hebron;  where  Ahlman, 
Sheshai,  and  Talmai,  the  children  of  Anak,  were.  (Now  Hebron  was  built  seven 
years  before  Zoan  in  Egypt.)  23.  And  they  came  unto  the  brook  of  Eshcol,  and  cut 
down  from  thence  a  branch  with  one  cluster  of  grapes,  and  they  bare  it  between 
two  upon  a  staff;  and  they  brought  of  the  pomegranates,  and  of  the  figs.  24.  The 
place  was  called  the  brook  Eshcol,  because  of  the  cluster  of  grapes  which  the 
children  of  Israel  cut  down  from  thence.  25.  And  they  returned  from  searching 
of  the  land  after  forty  days.  26.  And  they  went  and  came  to  Moses,  and  to  Aaron, 
and  to  all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  unto  the  wilderness  of  Paran, 
to  Kadesh ;  and  brought  back  word  unto  them,  and  unto  all  the  congregation,  and 
shewed  them  the  fruit  of  the  land.  27.  And  they  told  him,  and  said.  We  came  unto 
the  land  whither  thou  sentest  lis,  and  surely  it  floweth  wiin  milk  and  honey  ;  and 
this  is  the  fruit  of  it.  28.  Nevertheless  the  people  be  strong  that  dwell  in  the  land, 
and  the  cities  are  walled,  and  very  great :  and,  moreover,  we  saw  the  children  of 
Anak  there.  29.  The  Amalekites  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  south ;  and  the  Hittites, 
and  the  Jebusites,  and  the  Amorites,  dwell  in  the  mountains ;  and  the  Canaanites 
dwell  by  the  sea,  and  by  the  coast  of  Jordan.  30.  And  Caleb  stilled  the  people 
before  Moses,  and  said.  Let  us  go  up  at  once,  and  possess  it ;  for  we  are  well  able  to 
overcome  it.  31.  But  the  men  that  went  up  with  him  said.  We  be  not  able  to  go 
up  against  the  people ;  for  they  are  stronger  than  we.  32.  And  they  brought  up  an 
evil  report  of  the  land  which  they  had  searched  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying. 
The  land,  through  which  we  have  gone  to  search  it,  is  a  land  that  eateth  up  the 
inhabitants  thereof;  and  all  the  people  that  we  saw  in  it  are  men  of  a  great 
stature.  33.  And  there  we  saw  the  giants,  the  sons  of  Anak,  which  come  of  the 
giants :  and  we  were  in  our  own  sight  as  grasshoppers,  and  so  we  were  in  their 
sight.'— Num.  xiU.  17-33. 

We  stand  here  on  the  edge  of  the  Promised  Land. 
The  discussion  of  the  true  site  of  Kadesh  need  not 
concern  us  now.  Wherever  it  was,  the  wanderers 
had  the  end  of  their  desert  journey  within  sight ;  one 
bold  push  forward,  and  their  feet  would  tread  on 
their  inheritance.  But,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  courage 
oozed  out  at  the  decisive  moment,  and  cowardice,  dis- 
guised as  prudence,  called  for  '  further  information,' — 
that  cuckoo-cry  of  the  faint-hearted.  There  are  three 
steps  in  this  narrative :  the  despatch  of  the  explorers, 
their  expedition,  and  the  two  reports  brought  back. 

332 


vs.  17-33]        AFRAID  OF  GIANTS  833 

I.  We  have  the  despatch  and  instructions  of  the 
explorers.  A  comparison  with  Deuteronomy  i.  shows 
that  the  project  of  sending  the  spies  originated  in  the 
people's  terror  at  the  near  prospect  of  the  fighting 
which  they  had  known  to  be  impending  ever  since 
they  left  Egypt.  Faith  finds  that  nearness  diminishes 
dangers,  but  sense  sees  them  grow  as  they  approach. 
The  people  answered  Moses'  brave  words  summoning 
them  to  the  struggle  with  this  feeble  petition  for  an  in- 
vestigation. They  did  not  "honestly  say  that  they  were 
alarmed,  but  defined  the  scope  of  the  exploring  party's 
mission  as  simply  to  '  bring  us  word  again  of  the  way 
by  which  we  must  go  up,  and  the  cities  into  which 
we  shall  come.'  Had  they  not  the  pillar  blazing 
there  above  them  to  tell  them  that  ?  The  request  was 
not  fathomed  in  its  true  faithlessness  by  Moses,  who 
thought  it  reasonable  and  yielded.  So  far  Deuteronomy 
goes;  but  this  narrative  puts  another  colour  on  the 
mission,  representing  it  as  the  consequence  of  God's 
command.  The  most  eager  discoverer  of  discrepancies 
in  the  component  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  need  not 
press  this  one  into  his  service,  for  both  sides  may  be 
true :  the  one  representing  the  human  feebleness  which 
originated  the  wish ;  the  other,  the  divine  compliance 
with  the  desire,  in  order  to  disclose  the  unbelief  which 
unfitted  the  people  for  the  impending  struggle,  and  to 
educate  them  by  letting  them  have  their  foolish  way, 
and  taste  its  bitter  results.  Putting  the  two  accounts 
together,  we  get,  not  a  contradiction,  but  a  complete 
view,  which  teaches  a  large  truth  as  to  God's  dealings ; 
namely,  that  He  often  lovingly  lets  us  have  our  own 
way  to  show  us  by  the  issues  that  His  is  better,  and 
that  daring,  which  is  obedience,  is  the  true  prudence. 

The  instructions  given  to  the  explorers  turn  on  two 


334  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.xiii. 

points:  the  eligibility  of  the  country  for  settlement, 
and  the  military  strength  of  its  inhabitants.  They 
alternate  in  a  very  graphic  way  from  the  one  of  these 
to  the  other,  beginning,  in  verse  18,  with  the  land,  and 
immediately  going  on  to  the  numbers  and  power  of  the 
inhabitants ;  then  harking  back  again,  in  verse  19,  to 
the  fertility  of  the  land,  and  passing  again  to  the 
capacity  of  the  cities  to  resist  attack  ;  and  finishing  up, 
in  verse  20,  with  the  land  once  more,  both  arable  and 
forest.  The  same  double  thought  colours  the  parting 
exhortation  to  '  be  bold,'  and  to  *  bring  of  the  produce 
of  the  land.'  Now  the  people  knew  already  both  points 
which  the  spies  were  despatched  to  find  out.  Over  and 
over  again,  in  Egypt,  in  the  march,  and  at  Sinai,  they 
had  been  told  that  the  land  was  '  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,'  and  had  been  assured  of  its  conquest.  What 
more  did  they  want?  Nothing,  if  they  had  believed 
God.  Nothing,  if  they  had  been  all  saints, — which  they 
were  not.  Their  fears  were  very  natural.  A  great 
deal  might  be  said  in  favour  of  their  wish  to  have 
accurate  information.  But  it  is  a  bad  sign  when  faith, 
or  rather  unbelief,  sends  out  sense  to  be  its  scout,  and 
when  we  think  to  verify  God's  words  by  men's  con- 
firmation. Not  to  believe  Him  unless  a  jury  of  twelve 
of  ourselves  says  the  same  thing,  is  surely  much  the 
same  as  not  believing  Him  at  all ;  for  it  is  not  He,  but 
they,  whom  we  believe  after  all. 

There  is  no  need  to  be  too  hard  on  the  people.  They 
were  a  mob  of  slaves,  whose  manhood  had  been  eaten 
out  by  four  centuries  of  sluggish  comfort,  and  latterly 
crushed  by  oppression.  So  far  as  we  know,  Abraham's 
midnight  surprise  of  the  Eastern  kings  was  the  solitary 
bit  of  fighting  in  the  national  history  thus  far ;  and  it 
is  not  wonderful  that,  with  such  a  past,  they  should 


vs.  17-33]         AFRAID  OF  GIANTS  885 

have  shrunk  from  the  prospect  of  bloodshed,  and  caught 
at  any  excuse  for  delay  at  least,  even  if  not  for  escape. 
•  We  have  all  of  us  one  human  heart,'  and  these  cowards 
were  no  monsters,  but  average  men,  who  did  very 
much  what  average  men,  professing  to  be  Christians, 
do  every  day,  and  for  doing  get  praised  for  prudence 
by  other  average  professing  Christians.  How  many 
of  us,  when  brought  right  up  to  some  task  involving 
difficulty  or  danger,  but  unmistakably  laid  on  us  by 
God,  shelter  our  distrustful  fears  under  the  fair  pretext 
of  'knowing  a  little  more  about  it  first,'  and  shake  wise 
heads  over  rashness  which  takes  God  at  His  word,  and 
thinks  that  it  knows  enough  when  it  knows  what  He 
wills  ? 

II.  We  have  the  exploration  (verses  21-25).  The 
account  of  it  is  arranged  on  a  plan  common  in  the  Old 
Testament  narratives,  the  observation  of  which  would, 
in  many  places,  remove  difficulties  which  have  led  to 
extraordinary  hypotheses.  Verse  21  gives  a  general 
summary  of  what  is  then  taken  up,  and  told  in  more 
detail.  It  indicates  the  completeness  of  the  exploration 
by  giving  its  extreme  southern  and  northern  points, 
the  desert  of  Zin  being  probably  the  present  depression 
called  the  Arabah,  and  '  Rehob  as  men  come  to  Hamath ' 
being  probably  near  the  northern  Dan,  on  the  way  to 
Hamath,  which  lay  in  the  valley  between  the  Lebanon 
and  the  Anti-Lebanon.  The  account  then  begins  over 
again,  and  tells  how  the  spies  went  up  into  *  the  South.' 
The  Revised  Version  has  done  wisely  in  printing  this 
word  with  a  capital,  and  thereby  showing  that  it  is  not 
merely  the  name  of  a  cardinal  point,  but  of  a  district. 
It  literally  means  '  the  dry,'  and  is  applied  to  the  arid 
stretch  of  land  between  the  more  cultivated  southern 
parts  of  Canaan  and  the  northern  portion  of  the  desert 


336  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.  xin. 

which  runs  down  to  Sinai.  It  is  a  great  chalky  plateau, 
and  might  almost  be  called  a  steppe  or  prairie.  Passing 
through  this,  the  explorers  next  would  come  to  Hebron, 
the  first  town  of  importance,  beside  which  Abraham 
had  lived,  and  where  the  graves  of  their  ancestors  were. 
But  they  were  in  no  mood  for  remembering  such  old 
stories.  Living  Anaks  were  much  more  real  to  them 
than  dead  patriarchs.  So  the  only  thing  mentioned, 
besides  the  antiquity  of  the  city,  is  the  presence  in  it 
of  these  giants.  They  were  probably  the  relics  of  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants,  and  some  strain  of  their  blood 
survived  till  late  days.  They  seem  to  have  expelled  the 
Hittites,  who  held  Mamre,  or  Hebron,  in  Abraham's 
time.  Their  name  is  said  to  mean  *  long-necked,'  and 
the  three  names  in  our  lesson  are  probably  tribal,  and 
not  personal,  names.  The  whole  march  northward 
and  back  again  comes  in  between  verses  22  and  23 ;  for 
Eshcol  was  close  to  Hebron,  and  the  spies  would  not 
encumber  themselves  with  the  bunch  of  grapes  on  their 
northward  march.  The  details  of  the  exploration  are 
given  more  fully  in  the  spies'  report,  which  shows  that 
they  had  gone  up  north  from  Hebron,  through  the 
hills,  and  possibly  came  back  by  the  valley  of  the 
Jordan.  At  any  rate,  they  made  good  speed,  and  must 
have  done  some  bold  and  hard  marching,  to  cover  the 
ground  out  and  back  in  six  weeks.  So  they  returned 
with  their  pomegranates  and  figs,  and  a  great  bunch 
of  the  grapes  for  which  the  valley  identified  with  Eshcol 
la  still  famous,  swinging  on  a  pole, — the  easiest  way  of 
carrying  it  without  injury. 

III.  We  have  next  the  two  reports.  The  explorers  are 
received  in  a  full  assembly  of  the  people,  and  begin 
their  story  with  an  object-lesson,  producing  the  great 
grape  cluster  and  the  other  spoils.    But  while  honesty 


vs.  17-33]         AFRAID  OF  GIANTS  837 

compelled  the  acknowledgment  of  the  fertility  of  the 
land,  cowardice  slurred  that  over  as  lightly  as  might 
be,  and  went  on  to  dilate  on  the  terrors  of  the  giants 
and  the  strength  of  the  cities,  and  the  crowded  popula- 
tion that  held  every  corner  of  the  country.  Truly,  the 
eye  sees  what  it  brings  with  it.  They  really  had  gone 
to  look  for  dangers,  and  of  course  they  found  them. 
Whatever  Moses  might  lay  down  in  his  instructions, 
they  had  been  sent  by  the  people  to  bring  back  reasons 
for  not  attempting  the  coilquest,  and  so  they  curtly  and 
coldly  admit  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  fling  down 
the  fruit  for  inspection  as  undeniably  grown  there,  but 
they  tell  their  real  mind  with  a  great  'nevertheless.' 
Their  report  is,  no  doubt,  quite  accurate.  The  cities  were, 
no  doubt,  some  of  them  walled,  and  to  eyes  accustomed 
to  the  desert,  very  great;  and  there  were,  no  doubt, 
Anaks  at  Hebron,  at  any  rate,  and  the  '  spies '  had  got 
the  names  of  the  various  races  and  their  territories 
correctly.  As  to  these,  we  need  only  notice  that  the 
Hittites  were  an  outlying  branch  of  the  great  nation, 
which  recent  research  has  discovered,  as  we  might  say, 
the  importance  and  extent  of  which  we  scarcely  yet 
know ;  that  the  Jebusites  held  Jerusalem  till  David's 
time ;  that  the  '  Amorites,'  or '  Highlanders,'  occupied  the 
central  block  of  mountainous  country  in  conjunction 
with  the  two  preceding  tribes ;  and  that  the  *  Canaan- 
ites,'  or  '  Lowlanders,'  held  the  lowlands  east  and  west 
of  that  hilly  nucleus,  namely,  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
Jordan,  and  the  strip  of  maritime  plain.  A  very 
accurate  report  may  be  very  one-sided.  The  spies  were 
not  the  last  people  who,  being  sent  out  to  bring  home 
facts,  managed  to  convey  very  decided  opinions  with- 
out expressing  any.  A  grudging  and  short  admission 
to  begin  with,  the  force  of  which  is  immediately  broken 


338  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.xiii. 

by  sombre  and  minute  painting  of  difficulty  and  danger, 
is  more  powerful  as  a  deterrent  than  any  dissuasive.  It 
sounds  such  an  unbiassed  appeal  to  common-sense,  as  if 
the  reporter  said,  *  There  are  the  facts ;  we  leave  you 
to  draw  the  conclusions.'  An  '  unvarnished  account  of 
the  real  state  of  the  case,'  in  which  there  is  not  a  single 
misstatement  nor  exaggeration,  may  be  utterly  false 
by  reason  of  wrong  perspective  and  omission,  and, 
however  true,  is  sure  to  act  as  a  shower-bath  to 
courage,  if  it  is  unaccompanied  with  a  word  of  cheer. 
To  begin  a  perilous  enterprise  without  fairly  facing  its 
risks  and  difficulties  is  folly.  To  look  at  them  only  is 
no  less  folly,  and  is  the  sure  precursor  of  defeat.  But 
when  on  the  one  side  is  God's  command,  and  on  the 
other  such  doleful  discouragements,  they  are  more 
than  folly,  they  are  sin. 

It  is  bracing  to  turn  from  the  creeping  prudence 
which  leaves  God  out  of  the  account,  to  the  cheery 
ring  of  Caleb's  sturdy  confidence.  His  was  *  a  minority 
report,'  signed  by  only  two  of  the  *  Commission.'  These 
two  had  seen  all  that  the  others  had,  but  everything 
depends  on  the  eyes  which  look.  The  others  had 
measured  themselves  against  the  trained  soldiers  and 
giants,  and  were  in  despair.  These  two  measured 
Amalekites  and  Anaks  against  God,  and  were  jubilant. 
They  do  not  dispute  the  facts,  but  they  reverse  the 
implied  conclusion,  because  they  add  the  governing 
fact  of  God's  help.  How  differently  the  same  facts 
strike  a  man  who  lives  by  faith,  and  one  who  lives  by 
calculation!  Israel  might  be  a  row  of  ciphers,  but 
with  God  at  the  head  they  meant  something.  Caleb's 
confidence  that  *  we  are  well  able  to  overcome '  was 
religious  trust,  as  is  plain  from  God's  eulogium  on  him 
in  the  next  chapter  (Num.  xiv.  24).     The  lessons  from 


vs.  17-33]        AFRAID  OF  GIANTS  839 

it  are  that  faith  is  the  parent  of  wise  courage ;  that 
where  duty,  which  is  God's  voice,  points,  difficulties 
must  not  deter  ;  that  when  we  have  God's  assurance  of 
support,  they  are  nothing.  Caleb  was  wise  to  counsel 
going  up  to  the  assault  *  at  once,'  for  there  is  no  better 
cure  for  fear  than  action.  Old  soldiers  tell  us  that  the 
trying  time  is  when  waiting  to  begin  the  fight.  '  The 
native  hue  of  resolution '  gets  *  sicklied  o'er '  with  the 
paleness  that  comes  from  hesitation.  Am  I  sure  that 
anything  is  God's  will  ?  Then  the  sooner  I  go  to  work 
at  doing  it,  the  better  for  myself  and  for  the  vigour  of 
my  work. 

This  headstrong  rashness,  as  they  thought  it,  brings 
up  the  other  '  spies '  once  more.  Notice  how  the  gloomy 
views  are  the  only  ones  in  their  second  statement. 
There  is  nothing  about  the  fertility  of  the  land,  but, 
instead,  we  have  that  enigmatical  expression  about  its 
'eating  up  its  inhabitants.'  No  very  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  this  is  forthcoming.  It  evidently  means 
that  in  some  way  the  land  was  destructive  of  its  in- 
habitants, which  seems  to  contradict  their  former 
reluctant  admission  of  its  fertility.  Perhaps  in  their 
eagerness  to  paint  it  black  enough,  they  did  contradict 
themselves,  and  try  to  make  out  that  it  was  a  barren 
soil,  not  worth  conquering.  Fear  is  not  very  careful  of 
consistency.  Note,  too,  the  exaggerations  of  terror. 
« All  the  people '  are  sons  of  Anak  now.  The  size  as 
well  as  the  number  of  the  giants  has  grown ;  '  we  were 
in  our  own  sight  as  grasshoppers.'  No  doubt  they  were 
gigantic,  but  fear  performed  the  miracle  of  adding  a  cubit 
to  their  stature.  When  the  coward  hears  that  *  there  is 
a  lion  without,' — that  is,  in  the  open  country, — he  imme- 
diately concludes,  'I  shall  be  slain  in  the  streets,' 
where  it  is  not  usual  for  lions  to  disport  themselves. 


340  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.  xiv. 

Thus  exaggerated  and  one-sided  is  distrust  of  God's 
promises.  Such  a  temper  is  fatal  to  all  noble  life  or 
work,  and  brings  about  the  disasters  which  it  foresees. 
If  these  cravens  had  gone  up  to  fight  with  men  before 
whom  they  felt  like  grasshoppers,  of  course  they 
would  have  been  beaten ;  and  it  was  much  better  that 
their  fears  should  come  out  at  Kadesh  than  when 
committed  to  the  struggle.  Therefore  God  lovingly 
permitted  the  mission  of  the  spies,  and  so  brought 
lurking  unbelief  to  the  surface,  where  it  could  be  dealt 
with.  Let  us  beware  of  the  one-eyed  '  prudence '  which 
sees  only  the  perils  in  the  path  of  duty  and  enterprise 
for  God,  and  is  blind  to  the  all-sufficient  presence  which 
makes  us  more  than  conquerors,  when  we  lean  all  our 
weight  on  it.  It  is  well  to  see  the  Anakim  in  their  full 
f ormidableness,  and  to  feel  that  we  are  *  as  grasshoppers 
in  our  own  sight '  and  in  theirs,  if  the  sight  drives  us  to 
lift  our  eyes  to  Him  who  '  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the 
earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof,'  however  huge  and 
strong,  *  are  as  grasshoppers.' 


WEIGHED,  AND  FOUND  WANTING 

'And  all  the  congregation  lifted  up  their  voice,  and  cried ;  and  the  people  wept 
that  night.  2.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel  mnrmured  against  Moses  and  against 
Aaron ;  and  the  whole  congregation  said  unto  them.  Would  God  that  we  had  died 
in  the  land  of  Egypt !  or  would  God  we  had  died  in  this  wilderness !  3.  And 
wherefore  hath  the  Lord  brought  us  unto  this  land,  to  fall  by  the  sword,  that  our 
wives  and  our  children  should  be  a  prey?  were  it  not  better  for  us  to  return  into 
Egypt?  4.  And  they  said  one  to  another.  Let  us  make  a  captain,  and  let  us  return 
into  Egypt.  5.  Then  Moses  and  Aaron  fell  on  their  faces  before  all  the  assembly  of 
the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel.  6.  And  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and 
Caleb  the  son  of  Jephunneh,  which  were  of  them  that  searched  tne  land,  rent  their 
clothes.  7.  And  they  spake  unto  all  the  company  of  the  children  of  Israel,  saying. 
The  land,  which  we  passed  through  to  search  it.  Is  an  exceeding  good  land.  8.  If 
the  Lord  delight  in  us,  then  He  will  bring  us  into  this  land,  and  give  it  us ;  a  land 
which  floweth  with  milk  and  honey.  9.  Only  rebel  not  ye  against  the  Lord,  neither 
fear  ye  the  people  of  the  land ;  for  they  are  bread  for  us :  their  defence  is  departed 
from  them,  and  the  Lord  is  with  us :  fear  them  not.    10.  But  all  the  congregation 


vs.  1-10]  FOUND  WANTING  841 

bade  stone  them  with  stones.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  in  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation  before  all  the  children  of  Israel.'— Nxjm.  xiv.  1-10. 

Terror  is  more  contagious  than  courage,  for  a  mob  is 
always  more  prone  to  base  than  to  noble  instincts. 
The  gloomy  report  of  the  spies  jumped  with  the 
humour  of  the  people,  and  was  at  once  accepted.  Its 
effect  was  to  throw  the  whole  assembly  into  a  paroxysm 
of  panic,  which  was  expressed  in  the  passionate  Eastern 
manner  by  wild,  ungoverned  shrieking  and  tears. 
What  a  picture  of  a  frenzied  crowd  the  first  verse  of 
this  chapter  gives !  That  is  not  the  stuff  of  which 
heroes  can  be  made.  Weeping  endured  for  a  night, 
but  to  such  weeping  there  came  no  morning  of  joy. 
When  day  dawned,  the  tempest  of  emotion  settled 
down  into  sullen  determination  to  give  up  the  prize 
which  hung  within  reach  of  a  bold  hand,  ripe  and 
ready  to  drop.  It  was  one  of  the  moments  which  come 
once  at  least  in  the  lives  of  nations  as  of  individuals, 
when  a  supreme  resolve  is  called  for,  and  when  to  fall 
beneath  the  stern  requirement,  and  refuse  a  great 
attempt  because  of  danger,  is  to  pronounce  sentence  of 
un worthiness  and  exclusion  on  themselves.  Not  courage 
only,  but  belief  in  God,  was  tested  in  this  crucial  moment, 
which  made  a  turning-point  in  the  nation's  history. 
Our  text  brings  before  us  with  dramatic  vividness 
and  sharpness  of  contrast,  three  parties  in  this  decisive 
hour — the  faithless  cowards,  the  faithful  four,  and  the 
All-seeing  presence. 

I.  Note  the  faithless  cowards.  The  gravity  of  the 
revolt  here  is  partly  in  its  universality,  which  is  em- 
phasised in  the  narrative  at  every  turn :  '  all  t^^  con- 
gregation '  (v.  1),  *  all  the  children  of  Israel,'  *  the  whole 
congregation '  (v.  2),  *  all  the  assembly  of  the  congrega- 
tion '   (which    implies  a  solemn  formal  convocation), 


342  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.xiv. 

'  all  the  company '  (v.  7),  '  all  the  congregation,'  *  all  the 
children  of  Israel '  (v.  10).  It  was  no  sectional  discon- 
tent, but  full-blown  and  universal  rebellion.  The 
narrative  draws  a  distinction  between  the  language 
addressed  to  Moses,  and  the  whisperings  to  one  another. 
Publicly,  the  unanimous  voice  suggested  the  return  to 
Egypt  as  an  alternative  for  discussion,  and  put  it 
before  Moses ;  to  one  another  they  muttered  the  pro- 
posal, which  no  man  had  yet  courage  to  speak  out,  of 
choosing  a  new  leader,  and  going  back,  whatever 
became  of  Moses.  That  could  only  mean  murder  as 
well  as  mutiny.  The  whispers  would  soon  be  loud 
enough. 

In  the  murmurs  to  Moses,  observe  the  distinct  and 
conscious  apostacy  from  Jehovah.  They  recognise 
that  God  •  has  brought '  them  there,  and  they  slander 
Him  by  the  assertion  that  His  malignant,  deliberate 
purpose  was  to  kill  them  all,  and  make  slaves  of  their 
wives  and  children.  That  was  how  they  read  the  past, 
and  thought  of  Him !  He  had  enticed  them  into  His 
trap,  as  a  hunter  might  some  foolish  animal,  by  dainties 
strewed  along  the  path,  and  now  they  were  in  the  toils, 
and  their  only  chance  of  life  was  to  break  through. 
Often,  already,  had  they  raised  that  mad  cry — '  back  to 
Egypt ! '  but  there  had  never  been  such  a  ring  of  resolve 
in  it,  nor  had  it  come  from  so  many  throats,  nor  had 
any  serious  purpose  to  depose  Moses  been  entertained. 
If  we  add  the  fact  that  they  were  now  on  the  very 
frontier  of  Canaan,  and  that  the  decision  now  taken 
was  necessarily  final,  we  get  the  full  significance  of  the 
incident  from  the  mere  secular  historian's  point  of 
view.  But  its  bearing  on  the  people's  relation  to 
Jehovah  gives  a  darker  colouring  to  it.  It  is  not  merely 
faint-hearted  shrinking  from  a  great  opportunity,  but 


vs.  MO]  FOUND  WANTING  843 

it  is  wilful  and  deliberate  rejection  of  His  rule,  based 
upon  utter  distrust  of  His  word.  So  Scripture  treats 
this  event  as  the  typical  example  of  unbelief  (Psa.  xcv. ; 
Heb.  iii.  and  iv.).  So  regarded,  it  presents,  as  in  a 
mirror,  some  of  the  salient  characteristics  of  that 
master  sin.  Bad  as  it  is,  it  is  not  out  of  the  range  of 
possibility  that  it  should  be  repeated,  and  we  need  the 
warning  to  *  take  heed  lest  any  of  us  should  fall  after 
the  same  example  of  unbelief.' 

We  may  learn  from  it  the  essentials  of  faith  and  its 
opposite.  The  trust  which  these  cowards  failed  to 
exercise  was  reliance  on  Jehovah,  a  personal  relation 
to  a  Person.  In  externals  and  contents,  their  trust  was 
very  unlike  the  New  Testament  faith,  but  in  object  and 
essence  it  was  identical.  They  had  to  trust  in  Jehovah  ; 
we,  in  '  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.'  Their  creed  was 
much  less  clear  and  blessed  than  ours,  but  their  faith, 
if  they  had  had  it,  would  have  been  the  same.  Faith 
is  not  the  belief  of  a  creed,  whether  man-made  or  God- 
revealed,  but  the  cleaving  to  the  Person  whom  the 
creed  makes  known.  He  may  be  made  known  more  or 
less  perfectly;  but  the  act  of  the  soul,  by  which  we 
grasp  Him,  does  not  vary  with  the  completeness  of  the 
revelation.  That  act  was  one  for  'the  world's  grey 
fathers '  and  for  us.  In  like  manner,  unbelief  is  the 
same  black  and  fatal  sin,  whatever  be  the  degree  of 
light  against  which  it  turns.  To  depart  from  the  living 
God  is  its  essence,  and  that  is  always  rebellion  and 
death. 

Note  the  short  memory  and  churlish  unthankfulness 
of  unbelief.  It  has  been  often  objected  to  the  story  of 
the  Exodus,  that  such  extremity  of  folly  as  is  ascribed 
to  the  Israelites  is  inconceivable  in  such  circumstances. 
How  could  men,  with  all  these  miracles  in  mind,  and 


344  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.  xnr. 

manna  falling  daily,  and  the  pillar  blazing  every  night, 
and  the  roll  of  Sinai's  thunders  scarcely  out  of  their 
ears,  behave  thus?  But  any  one  who  has  honestly 
studied  his  own  heart,  and  known  its  capacity  for 
neglecting  the  plainest  indications  of  God's  presence, 
and  forgetting  the  gifts  of  His  love,  will  believe  the 
story,  and  see  brethren  in  these  Israelites.  Miracles  were 
less  wonderful  to  them,  because  they  knew  less  about 
nature  and  its  laws.  Any  miracles  constantly  renewed 
become  commonplace.  Habit  takes  the  wonder  out  of 
everything.  The  heart  that  does  not  '  like  to  retain 
God  in  its  knowledge '  will  find  easy  ways  of  forgetting 
Him,  and  revolting  from  Him,  though  the  path  be 
strewed  with  blessings,  and  tokens  of  His  presence 
flame  on  every  side.  True,  it  is  strange  that  all  the 
wonders  and  mercies  of  the  past  two  years  had  made 
no  deeper  impression  on  these  people's  hearts;  but  if 
they  had  not  done  so,  it  is  not  unnatural  that  they  had 
made  so  slight  an  impression  on  their  wills.  Their 
ingratitude  and  forgetfulness  are  inexplicable,  as  all 
sin  is,  for  its  very  essence  is  that  it  has  no  sufficient 
reason.  But  neither  is  inconceivable,  and  both  are 
repeated  by  us  every  day. 

Note  the  credulity  of  unbelief.  The  word  of  Jehovah 
had  told  them  that  the  land  'flowed  with  milk  and 
honey,'  and  that  they  were  sure  to  conquer  it.  They 
would  not  believe  Him  unless  they  had  verification  of 
His  promises.  And  when  they  got  their  own  fears 
reflected  in  the  multiplying  mirror  of  the  spies'  report, 
they  took  men's  words  for  gospel,  and  gave  to  them  a 
credence  without  examination  or  qualification,  which 
they  had  never  given  to  God.  I  think  that  I  have 
heard  of  people  who  inveigh  against  Christians  for 
their  slavish  acceptance  of  the  absolute  authority  of 


vs.  1-10]  FOUND  WANTING  345 

Jesus  Christ,  and  who  pin  their  faith  to  some  man's 
teaching  with  a  credulity  quite  as  great  as  and  much 
less  warrantable  than  ours. 

Note  the  bad  bargain  which  unbelief  is  ready  to 
make.  They  contemplated  a  risky  alternative  to  the 
brave  dash  against  Canaan.  There  would  be  quite  as 
much  peril  in  going  back  as  forward.  The  march  from 
Egypt  had  not  been  so  easy ;  but  what  would  it  be 
when  there  were  no  Moses,  no  Jethro,  no  manna,  no 
pillar  ?  And  what  sort  of  reception  would  wait  them 
in  Egypt,  and  what  fate  befall  them  there  ?  In  front, 
there  were  perils ;  but  God  would  be  with  them.  They 
would  have  to  fight  their  way,  but  with  the  joyous 
feeling  that  victory  was  sure,  and  that  every  blow 
struck,  and  every  step  marched,  brought  them  nearer 
triumphant  peace.  If  they  turned,  every  step  would 
carry  them  farther  from  their  hopes,  and  nearer  the 
dreary  putting  on  of  the  old  yoke,  which  *  neither  they 
nor  their  fathers  were  able  to  bear.'  They  would  buy 
slavery  at  as  dear  a  price  as  they  would  have  to  pay 
for  freedom  and  wealth.  Yet  they  elected  the  baser 
course,  and  thought  themselves  prudent  and  careful  of 
themselves  in  doing  so.  Is  the  breed  of  such  miscal- 
culators  extinct  ?  Far  greater  hardships  and  pains  are 
met  on  the  road  of  departure  from  God,  than  any 
which  befall  His  servants.  To  follow  Him  involves  a 
conflict,  but  to  shirk  the  battle  does  not  bring  im- 
munity from  strife.  The  alternatives  are  not  warfare 
or  peace,  God's  service  or  liberty.  The  most  prudent 
self-love  would  coincide  with  the  most  self-sacrificing 
heroic  consecration,  and  no  man  can  worse  consult  his 
own  well-being  than  in  seeking  escape  from  the  dangers 
and  toil  of  enlisting  in  God's  army,  by  running  back 
through  the  desert  to  put  his  neck  in  chains  in  Egypt. 


346  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.xiv. 

As  Moses  said :  *  Because  thou  servedst  not  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  joyfulness,  and  with  gladness  of  heart 
for  the  abundance  of  all  things,  therefore  thou  shalt 
serve  thine  enemies,  in  hunger,  and  in  thirst,  and  in 
want  of  all  things.' 

II.  The  faithful  four.  Moses  and  Aaron,  Caleb  and 
Joshua,  are  the  only  Abdiels  in  that  crowd  of  un- 
believing dastards.  Their  own  peril  does  not  move 
them ;  their  only  thought  is  to  dissuade  from  the  fatal 
refusal  to  advance.  The  leader  had  no  armed  force 
with  which  to  put  down  revolt,  and  stood  wholly 
undefended  and  powerless.  It  was  a  cruel  position  for 
him  to  see  the  work  of  his  life  crumbling  to  pieces,  and 
every  hope  for  his  people  dashed  by  their  craven  fears. 
Is  there  anywhere  a  nobler  piece  of  self-abnegation 
than  his  prostrating  himself  before  them  in  the  eager- 
ness of  his  pleading  with  them  for  their  own  good? 
If  anything  could  have  kindled  a  spark  of  generous 
enthusiasm,  that  passionate  gesture  of  entreaty  would 
have  done  it.  It  is  like :  'We  beseech  you,  in  His  stead, 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God.'  Men  need  to  be  importuned 
not  to  destroy  themselves,  and  he  will  have  most  suc- 
cess in  such  God-like  work  who,  as  Moses,  is  so  sure  of 
the  fatal  issues,  and  so  oblivious  of  all  but  saving  men 
from  self-inflicted  ruin,  that  he  sues  as  for  a  boon  with 
tears  in  his  voice,  and  dignity  thrown  to  the  winds. 

Caleb  and  Joshua  had  a  different  task, — to  make  one 
more  attempt  to  hearten  the  people  by  repeating  their 
testimony  and  their  confidence.  Tearing  their  dresses,  in 
sign  of  mourning,  they  bravely  ring  out  once  more  the 
cheery  note  of  assured  faith.  They  first  emphatically 
reiterate  that  the  land  is  fertile, — or,  as  the  words 
literally  run,  'good  exceedingly,  exceedingly.'  It  is 
right  to  stimulate  for  God's  warfare  by  setting  forth 


Ts.  1-10]  FOUND  WANTING  847 

the  blessedness  of  the  inheritance.  'The  recompense 
of  the  reward '  is  not  the  motive  for  doing  His  will,  but 
it  is  legitimately  used  as  encouragement,  in  spite  of 
the  overstrained  objection  that  virtue  for  the  sake  of 
heaven  is  spurious  virtue.  If  *  for  the  sake  of  heaven,' 
it  is  spurious;  but  it  is  not  spurious  because  it  is 
heartened  by  the  hope  of  heaven.  In  Caleb's  former 
report  there  was  no  reason  given  for  his  confidence 
that  '  we  are  well  able  to  overcome.'  Thus  far  all  the 
discussion  had  been  about  comparative  strength,  as 
any  heathen  soldier  would  have  reckoned  it.  But  the 
two  heroes  speak  out  the  great  Name  at  last,  which 
ought  to  scatter  all  fears  like  morning  mist.  The 
rebels  had  said  that  Jehovah  had  'brought  us  into 
this  land  to  fall  by  the  sword.'  The  two  give  them 
back  their  words  with  a  new  turn :  '  He  will  bring  us 
into  this  land,  and  give  it  us.'  That  is  the  only  antidote 
to  fear.  Calculations  of  comparative  force  are  worse 
than  useless,  and  their  results  depend  on  the  temper  of 
the  calculator;  but,  if  once  God  is  brought  into  the 
account,  the  sum  is  ended.  When  His  sword  is  flung 
into  the  scale,  whatever  is  in  the  other  goes  up.  So 
Caleb  and  Joshua  brush  aside  the  terrors  of  the  Anaks 
and  all  the  other  bugbears.  'They  are  bread  for  us,' 
we  can  swallow  them  at  a  mouthful ;  and  this  was 
no  swaggering  boast,  but  calm,  reasonable  confidence, 
because  it  rested  on  this, '  the  Lord  is  with  us.'  True, 
there  was  an  ' if,'  but  not  an  'if  of  doubt,  but  a  con- 
dition which  they  could  comply  with,  and  so  make  it  a 
certainty,  '  only  rebel  not  against  the  Lord,  and  fear 
not  the  people  of  the  land.'  Loyalty  to  Him  would 
give  courage,  and  courage  with  His  presence  would 
be  sure  of  victory.  Obedience  turns  God's  '  if s '  into 
•  verilys.'    There,  then,  we  have  an  outline  picture  of  the 


348  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.xiv. 

work  of  faith  pleading  with  the  rebellious,  heartening 
them  and  itself  by  thoughts  of  the  fair  inheritance, 
grasping  the  assurance  of  God's  omnipotent  help,  and 
in  the  strength  thereof  wisely  despising  the  strongest 
foes,  and  settling  itself  immovable  in  the  posture  of 
obedience. 

III.  The  sudden  appearance  of  the  all-seeing  Lord. 
The  bold  remonstrance  worked  the  people  into  a  fury, 
and  fidelity  was  about  to  reap  the  reward  which  the 
crowd  ever  gives  to  those  who  try  to  save  it  from  its 
own  base  passions.  Nothing  is  more  hateful  to  resolute 
sinners  than  good  counsel  which  is  undeniably  true. 
But  just  as  the  stones  were  beginning  to  fly,  the  '  glory 
of  the  Lord,'  that  wondrous  light  which  dwelt  above 
the  ark  in  the  inmost  shrine,  came  forth  before  all  the 
awestruck  crowd.  The  stones  would  be  dropped  fast 
enough,  and  a  hush  of  dread  would  follow  the  howling 
rage  of  the  angry  crowd.  Our  text  does  not  go  on  to 
the  awful  judgment  which  was  proclaimed ;  but  we 
may  venture  beyond  its  bounds  to  point  out  that  the 
sentence  of  exclusion  from  the  land  was  but  the 
necessary  consequence  of  the  temper  and  character 
which  the  refusal  to  advance  had  betrayed.  Such 
people  were  not  fit  for  the  fight.  A  new  generation, 
braced  by  the  keen  air  and  scant  fare  of  the  desert, 
with  firmer  muscles  and  hearts  than  these  enervated 
slaves  had,  was  needed  for  the  conquest.  The  sentence 
was  mercy  as  well  as  judgment ;  it  was  better  that  they 
should  live  in  the  wilderness,  and  die  there  by  natural 
process,  after  having  had  more  education  in  God's 
loving  care,  than  that  they  should  be  driven  unwillingly 
to  a  conflict  which,  in  their  state  of  mind,  would  have 
been  but  their  butchery.  None  the  less,  it  is  an  awful 
condemnation  for  a  man  to  be  brought  by  God's  provi- 


vs.  1-10]     MOSES  THE  INTERCESSOR       349 

dence  face  to  face  with  a  great  possibility  of  service 
and  of  blessing,  and  then  to  show  himself  such  that 
God  has  to  put  him  aside,  and  look  for  other  instru- 
ments. The  Israelites  were  excluded  from  Canaan  by- 
no  arbitrary  decree,  but  by  their  own  faithless  fears, 
which  made  their  victory  impossible.  '  They  could  not 
enter  in  because  of  unbelief.'  In  like  manner  our  unbelief 
shuts  us  out  from  salvation,  because  we  can  only  enter 
in  by  faith;  and  the  'rest  that  remains'  is  of  such  a 
nature  that  it  is  impossible  for  even  His  love  to  give  it 
to  the  unbelieving.  *  Let  us  labour,  therefore,  to  enter 
into  that  rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the  same  example 
of  unbelief.' 


MOSES  THE  INTERCESSOR 

*  Pardon,  1  beseech  Thee,  the  iniquity  of  this  people  according  unto  the  great- 
ness of  Thy  mercy,  and  as  Thou  hast  forgiven  this  people,  from  Egypt  even  until 
now.'— Num.  xiv.  19. 

See  how  in  this  story  a  divine  threat  is  averted  and 
a  divine  promise  is  broken,  thus  revealing  a  standing 
law  that  these  in  Scripture  are  conditional. 

This  striking  incident  of  Moses'  intercession  suggests 
to  us  some  thoughts  as  to 

I.  The  ground  of  the  divine  forgiveness. 

The  appeal  is  not  based  on  anything  in  the  people. 
God  is  not  asked  to  forgive  because  of  their  repentance 
or  their  faith.  True,  these  are  the  conditions  on  which 
His  pardon  is  received  by  us,  but  they  are  not  the 
reasons  why  it  is  given  by  Him.  Nor  does  Moses 
appeal  to  any  sacrifices  that  had  been  offered  and  were 
conceived  to  placate  God.  But  he  goes  deeper  than 
all  such  pleas,  and  lays  hold,  with  sublime  confidence, 
on  God's  own  nature  as  his  all-powerful  plea.    'The 


S50  THE  BOOK  OF  LUMBERS   [ch.  xiv. 

greatness  of  Thy  mercy'  is  the  ground  of  the  divine 
forgiveness,  and  the  mightiest  plea  that  human  lips 
can  urge.  It  suggests  that  His  very  nature  is  pardon- 
ing love ;  that '  mercy '  is  proper  to  Him,  that  it  is  the 
motive  and  impulse  of  His  acts.  He  forgives  because 
He  is  mercy.  That  is  the  foundation  truth.  It  is  the 
deep  spring  from  which  by  inherent  impulse  all  the 
streams  of  forgiveness  well  up. 

What  was  true  when  Moses  prayed  for  the  rebels  is 
true  to-day.  Christ's  work  is  the  consequence,  not  the 
cause,  of  God's  pardoning  love.  It  is  the  channel 
through  which  the  waters  reach  us,  but  the  waters 
made  the  channel  for  themselves. 

II.  The  persistency  of  the  divine  pardon. 

*  As  thou  hast  forgiven  .  .  .  even  until  now.' 

His  past  is  the  guarantee  of  His  future.  This  is  true 
of  every  one  of  His  attributes.  There  is  no  limitation 
to  the  divine  forgiveness ;  you  cannot  exhaust  it. 

Sometimes  there  may  be  long  tracts  of  almost  utter 
godlessness,  or  times  of  apathy.  Sometimes  there  may 
be  bursts  of  great  and  unsanctified  evil  after  many 
professions  of  fidelity,  as  in  David's  case.  Sometimes 
there  may  be  but  a  daily  experience  in  which  there 
is  little  apparent  progress,  little  consciousness  of  grow- 
ing mastery  over  sin,  little  of  deepening  holiness  and 
spiritual  power.  Be  it  so  I  To  all  such,  and  to  every 
other  form  of  Christian  unfaithfulness,  this  blessed 
thought  applies. 

We  are  apt  to  think  as  if  our  many  pardons  in  the 
past  made  future  pardons  less  likely,  whereas  the  truth 
is  that  we  have  received  forgiveness  so  often  in  the 
past  that  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  it  will  never  fail 
us  in  the  future.  God  has  established  a  precedent  in 
His  dealings  with  us.    He  binds  Himself  by  His  past. 


V.19]         MOSES  THE  INTERCESSOU       851 

As  in  His  creative  energy,  the  forces  that  flung  the 
whole  universe  forth  were  not  exhausted  by  the  act,  but 
subsist  continually  to  sustain  it,  as  '  He  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary,'  so  in  the  works  of  His  providence, 
and  more  especially  of  His  grace,  there  is  nothing  in 
the  exercise  of  any  of  His  attributes  to  exhaust  that 
attribute,  nothing  in  the  constant  appeal  which  we 
make  to  His  forgiving  grace  to  weary  out  that  grace. 
And  thus  we  may  learn,  even  from  the  unfading 
glories  of  the  heavens  a'nd  the  undimmed  splendours 
of  His  creative  works,  the  lesson  that,  in  the  holier 
region  of  His  love,  and  His  pardoning  mercy,  there  is 
no  exhaustion,  and  that  all  the  past  instances  of  His 
pardoning  grace  only  make  the  broader,  firmer  ground 
of  certainty  as  to  His  continuous  present  and  future 
forgiveness  for  all  our  iniquity.  He  who  has  proposed 
to  us  the  '  seventy  times  seven '  as  the  number  of  our 
forgivenesses  will  not  let  His  own  fall  short  of  that 
tale.  Our  iniquities  may  be  'more  than  the  hairs  of 
our  heads,'  but  as  the  psalmist  who  found  his  to  be  so 
comforted  himself  with  thinking,  God's  '  thoughts  which 
are  to  usward'  were  'more  than  can  be  numbered.' 
There  would  be  a  pardoning  thought  for  every  sin,  and 
after  all  sins  had  been  forgiven,  there  would  be  •  multi- 
tudes of  redemptions '  still  available  for  penitent  souls. 

There  is  but  one  thing  that  limits  the  divine  pardon, 
and  that  is  continuous  rejection  of  it. 

Whoever  seeks  to  be  pardoned  is  pardoned. 

III.  The  manner  of  the  divine  forgiveness. 

He  pardoned,  but  He  also  inflicted  punishment,  and 
in  both  He  loves  equally.  The  worst,  that  is  the 
spiritual,  consequences  (which  are  the  punishments)  of 
sin,  namely  separation  and  alienation  from  God,  He 
removes  in  the  very  act  of  forgiveness,  but  His  pardon 


352  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS  [ch.  xviii. 

does  not  affect  the  natural  consequences.  •  Thou  wast 
a  God  that  forgavest  them  and  tookest  vengeance  of 
their  inventions,'  says  a  psalmist  in  reference  to  this 
very  incident.  Thank  God  that  He  loves  us  too  wisely 
and  well  not  to  let  us  by  experience  '  know  that  it  is  a 
bitter  thing  to  forsake  the  Lord.' 

It  is  a  blessing  that  He  does  so,  and  a  sign  that  we 
are  pardoned,  if  we  rightly  use  it. 

IV.  The  vehicle  of  the  divine  forgiveness. 

The  Mediator.  Moses  here  may  be  taken  as  a  dim 
shadow  of  Christ. 

'  Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house,'  but  Jesus  is  the 
true  Mediator,  whose  intercession  consists  in  presenting 
the  constant  efficacy  of  His  sacrifice,  and  to  whom  God 
ever  says,  *  I  have  pardoned  according  to  Thy  word.' 

Trust  utterly  to  Him.  You  cannot  weary  out  the 
forgiving  love  of  God.  'Christ  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession';  with  God  is  'plenteous  redemption.'  'He 
shall  redeem  Israel  out  of  all  his  iniquities.' 


SERVICE  A  GIFT 

*.  .  .  I  have  given  your  priest's  office  unto  you  as  a  service  of  gift.'— Num.  xviii.  7. 

All  Christians  are  priests — to  offer  sacrifices,  alms, 
especially  prayers  ;  to  make  God  known  to  men. 

I.  Our  priesthood  is  a  gift  of  God's  love. 

We  are  apt  to  think  of  our  duties  as  burdensome. 
They  are  an  honour  and  a  mark  of  God's  grace. 

1.  They  are  His  gift — 

(a)  The  power  to  do.  All  capacities  and  possessions 
from  Him. 

(6)  The  wish  to  do.    '  Worketh  in  you  to  will.' 

(c)  The  right  to  do,  through  Christ. 


V.  7]        THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH       353 

2.  They  are  a  blessing. 

(a)  Note  the  good  effects  on  ourselves — the  increase 
of  fellowship  with  Him,  the  strengthening  of  all  holy 
desires. 

(6)  The  future  benefits.  Apply  this  to  prayer  and  to 
effort  on  behalf  of  our  fellow-men. 

II.  Our  priesthood  is  to  be  done  as  a  service — under  a 
sense  of  obligation  to  a  master,  with  diligence  (an  epyov, 
not  a  TTapepyov). 

III.  Our  priesthood  is  to  be  done  as  a  gift  to  God — to 
be  done  joyfully,  giving  ourselves  back  to  Him  :  *  Yield 
yourselves  unto  God' — 'your  reasonable  service.' 

Then  only  do  we  really  possess  ourselves,  and  'all 
things  are  ours,  for  we  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's.' 


THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH 

Then  came  the  children  of  Israel,  even  the  whole  congregation,  into  the  desert 
of  Zin  in  the  first  month  :  and  the  people  abode  in  Kadesh ;  and  Miriam  died  there, 
and  was  buried  there.  2.  And  there  was  no  water  for  the  congregation  :  and  they 
gathered  themselves  together  against  Moses  and  against  Aaron.  3.  And  the 
people  chode  with  Moses,  and  spake,  saying.  Would  God  that  we  had  died  when 
our  brethren  died  before  the  Lord  !  4.  And  why  have  ye  brought  up  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  Lord  into  this  wilderness,  that  we  and  our  cattle  should  die  there? 
6.  And  wherefore  have  ye  made  us  to  come  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  bring  us  in  unto 
this  evU  place  ?  It  is  no  place  of  seed,  or  of  flgs,  or  of  vines,  or  of  pomegranates  ; 
neither  is  there  any  water  to  drink.  6.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went  from  the 
presence  of  the  assembly  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and 
they  fell  upon  their  faces :  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  them.  7.  And 
the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  8.  Take  the  rod,  and  gather  thou  the 
assembly  together,  thou,  and  Aaron  thy  brother,  and  speak  ye  unto  the  rock 
before  their  eyes ;  and  it  shall  give  forth  his  water,  and  thou  shalt  bring  forth  to 
them  water  out  of  the  rock  :  so  thou  shalt  give  the  congregation  and  their  beasts 
drink.  9.  And  Moses  took  the  rod  from  before  the  Lord,  as  He  commanded  him. 
10.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  gathered  the  congregation  together  before  the  rock,  and 
he  said  unto  them.  Hear  now,  ye  rebels ;  must  we  fetch  you  water  out  of  this 
rock!  11.  And  Moses  lifted  up  his  hand,  and  with  his  rod  he  smote  the  rock 
twice:  and  the  water  came  out  abundantly,  and  the  congregation  drank,  and 
their  beasts  also.  12.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  Because  ye 
believed  Me  not,  to  sanctify  Me  in  the  eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  therefore  ye 
shall  not  bring  this  congregation  into  the  land  which  I  have  given  them.  13.  This 
is  the  water  of  Meribah;  because  the  children  of  Israel  Btrore  with  the  Lord, 
and  He  was  sanctified  in  them.'— Num.  xx.  1-13. 

Kadesh  had  witnessed  the  final  trial  and  failure  of 

z 


354  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [oh.  xx. 

the  generation  that  came  out  of  Egypt ;  now  we 
see  the  first  trial  and  failure  of  the  new  generation, 
thirty-seven  years  after,  on  the  same  spot.  Deep 
silence  shrouds  the  history  of  these  dreary  years  ;  but, 
probably,  the  congregation  was  broken  up,  and  small 
parties  roamed  over  the  country,  without  purpose  or 
hope,  while  Moses  and  a  few  of  the  leaders  kept  by  the 
tabernacle.  There  is  a  certain  emphasis  in  the  phrase 
of  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter,  '  the  children  of  Israel, 
even  the  whole  congregation,'  which  suggests  that  this 
was  the  first  reassembling  of  the  scattered  units  since 
the  last  act  of  the  'whole  congregation.'  'The  first 
month'  was,  then,  the  first  of  the  fortieth  year,  and 
the  gathering  was  either  in  obedience  to  the  summons 
of  Moses,  who  knew  that  the  fixed  time  had  now  come, 
or  was  the  result  of  common  knowledge  of  the  fact. 
In  any  case,  we  have  here  the  first  act  of  a  new  epoch, 
and  the  question  to  be  tried  is  whether  the  new  men 
are  any  better  than  the  old.  It  is  this  which  gives 
importance  to  the  event,  and  explains  the  bitterness 
of  Moses  at  finding  the  old  spirit  living  in  the  children. 
It  was  his  trial  as  well  as  theirs.  He  resumed  the 
functions  which  had  substantially  been  in  abeyance 
for  a  generation,  and  by  his  conduct  showed  that  he 
had  become  unfit  for  the  new  form  which  the  leader- 
ship must  take  with  the  invasion  of  Canaan. 

I.  We  note  the  old  murmurings  on  the  lips  of  the 
new  generation.  The  lament  of  a  later  prophet  fits 
these  hereditary  grumblers, — '  In  vain  have  I  smitten 
your  children ;  they  received  no  correction.'  The  place 
where  they  reassembled  might  have  taught  them  the 
sin  of  unbelief ;  their  parents'  graves  should  have  en- 
forced the  lesson.  But  the  long  years  of  wandering,  and 
two  millions  of  deaths,  had  been  useless.    The  weather- 


vs.  1-13]   THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH     355 

beaten  but  sturdy  strength  of  the  four  old  men, 
the  only  survivors,  might  have  preached  the  wisdom 
of  trust  in  the  God  in  whose  •  favour  is  life.'  But  the 
people  *  had  learned  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing.' 
The  old  cuckoo-cry,  which  had  become  so  monotonous 
from  their  fathers,  is  repeated,  with  differences,  not  in 
their  favour.  They  do  not,  indeed,  murmur  directly 
against  God,  because  they  regard  Moses  and  Aaron  as 
responsible.  *  Why,'  say  they,  *  have  ye  brought  up  the 
congregation  of  the  Lord?*  They  seem  to  use  that 
name  with  a  touch  of  pride  in  their  relation  to  God, 
while  destitute  of  any  real  obedience,  and  so  they  show 
the  first  traces  of  the  later  spirit  of  the  nation.  They 
have  acquired  cattle  while  living  in  the  oases  of  the 
wilderness,  and  they  are  anxious  about  them.  They 
acknowledge  the  continuity  of  national  life  in  their 
question,  '  Wherefore  have  ye  made  us  to  come  up  out 
of  Egypt  ? '  though  most  of  them  had  been  born  in  the 
wilderness.  The  fear  that  moved  their  fathers  to  un- 
belief was  more  reasonable  and  less  contemptible  than 
this  murmuring,  which  ignores  God  all  but  utterly,  and 
is  ready  to  throw  up  everything  at  the  first  taste  of 
privation. 

It  is  a  signal  instance  of  the  solemn  law  by  which 
the  fathers'  sins  are  inherited  by  the  children  who 
prove  themselves  heirs  to  their  ancestors  by  repeating 
their  deeds.  It  is  fashionable  now  to  deny  original 
sin,  and  equally  fashionable  to  aflSrm  '  heredity,'  which 
is  the  same  thing,  put  into  scientific  language.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  national  character  persistent  through 
generations,  each  unit  of  which  adds  something  to  the 
force  of  the  tendencies  which  he  receives  and  trans- 
mits,  but  which  never  are  so  omnipotent  as  to  destroy 
individual  guilt,  however  they  may  lighten  it. 


356        THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS         [ch.xx. 

Note,  too,  the  awful  power  of  resistance  to  God's 
educating  possessed  by  our  wills.  The  whole  purpose 
of  these  men's  lives,  thus  far,  had  been  to  fit  them  for 
being  God's  instrum^ents,  and  for  the  reception  of  His 
blessing.  The  desert  was  His  school  for  body  and 
mind,  where  muscles  and  wills  were  to  be  braced,  and 
solitude  and  expectation  might  be  nurses  of  lofty 
thoughts,  and  in  the  silence  God's  voice  might  sound. 
What  better  preparation  of  a  hardy  race  of  God- 
trusting  heroes  could  there  have  been,  and  what  came 
of  it  all?  Failure  all  but  complete!  The  instrument 
tempered  with  so  much  care  has  its  edge  turned  at  the 
first  stroke.  The  old  sore  breaks  out  at  the  old  spot. 
Man's  will  has  an  awful  power  to  thwart  God's  train- 
ing ;  and  of  all  the  sad  mysteries  of  this  sad  mysterious 
world,  this  is  the  saddest  and  most  mysterious,  and  is 
the  root  of  all  other  sadness  and  mystery, — that  a  man 
can  set  his  pin-point  of  a  will  against  that  great  Will 
which  gives  him  all  his  power,  and  when  God  beckons 
can  say,  '  I  will  not,'  and  can  render  His  most  sedulous 
discipline  ineffectual. 

Note,  too,  that  trivial  things  are  large  enough  to  hide 
plain  duties  and  bright  possibilities.  These  men  knew 
that  they  had  come  to  Kadesh  for  the  final  assault, 
which  was  to  recompense  all  their  hardships.  Their 
desert  training  should  have  made  them  less  resource- 
less  and  desperate  when  water  failed  ;  but  the  hopes  of 
conquest  and  the  duty  of  trust  cannot  hold  their  own 
against  present  material  inconvenience.  They  even 
seem  to  make  bitter  mockery  of  the  promises,  when 
they  complain  that  Kadesh  is  *  no  place  of  seed,  or  of 
figs,  or  of  vines,  or  of  pomegranates,'  which  were  the 
fruits  brought  by  the  spies, — as  if  they  had  said,  *  So 
this  stretch  of  waterless  sand  is  the  fertile  land  you 


vs.  1-13]    THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH     357 

talked  of,  is  it?  This  is  all  that  we  have  got  by  re- 
assembling here.'  Do  we  not  often  feel  that  the 
drought  of  Kadesh  is  more  real  than  the  grapes  of 
Eshcol?  Are  we  not  sometimes  tempted  to  bitter 
comparisons  of  the  fair  promises  with  the  gloomy 
realities  ?  Does  our  courage  never  flag,  nor  our  faith 
falter,  nor  swirling  clouds  of  doubt  hide  the  inherit- 
ance from  our  weary  and  tear-filled  eyes  ?  He  that  is 
without  sin  may  cast  the  first  stone  at  these  men ; 
but  whoever  knows  his 'own  weak  heart  will  confess 
that,  if  he  had  been  among  that  thirsty  crowd,  he 
would,  most  likely,  have  made  one  of  the  murmurers. 

II.  Note  God's  repetition  of  His  old  gift  to  the  new 
generation.  Moses  makes  no  attempt  to  argue  with  the 
people,  but  casts  himself  in  entreaty  before  the  door  of 
the  Tabernacle,  as  if  crushed  and  helpless  in  face  of  this 
heart-breaking  proof  of  the  persistent  obstinacy  of  the 
old  faults.  God's  answer  recalls  the  former  miracle  at 
Rephidim  (Exodus  xvii.  1-7)  in  the  early  days  of  the 
march,  when  the  same  cries  had  come  from  lips  now 
silent,  and  the  rock,  smitten  at  God's  command  by  the 
rod  which  had  parted  the  sea,  yielded  water.  The  only 
differences  are  that  here  Moses  is  bid  to  speak,  not  to 
smite ;  and  that  the  miracle  is  to  be  done  before  all  the 
congregation,  instead  of  before  the  elders  only.  Both 
variations  seem  to  have  the  common  purpose  of  en- 
hancing the  wonder,  and  confirming  the  authority  of 
Moses,  to  a  generation  to  whom  the  old  deliverances 
were  only  hearsay,  and  many  of  whom  were  in  contact 
with  the  leader  for  the  first  time.  The  fact  that  we 
have  here  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch,  and  a  new  set 
of  people,  goes  far  to  explain  the  resemblance  of  the  two 
incidents,  without  the  need  of  supposing,  with  many 
critics,  that  they  are  but  different  versions  of  one 


358  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.  xx. 

'  legend.'  The  repetition  of  scarcity  of  water  is  not 
wonderful ;  the  recurrence  of  the  murmurings  is  the  sad 
proof  of  the  unchanged  temper  of  the  people,  and  the 
repetition  of  the  miracle  is  the  merciful  witness  of  the 
patience  of  God.  His  charity  *  is  not  easily  provoked, 
is  not  soon  angry,'  but  stoops  to  renew  gifts  which  had 
been  so  little  appreciated  that  the  remembrance  of  them 
failed  to  cure  distrust.  Unbelief  is  obstinate,  but  His 
loving  purpose  is  more  persistent  still.  Rephidim 
should  have  made  the  murmuring  at  Kadesh  im- 
possible ;  but,  if  it  does  not,  then  He  will  renew  the 
mercy,  though  it  had  been  once  wasted,  and  will  so 
shape  the  second  gift  that  it  shall  recall  the  first,  if 
haply  both  may  effect  what  one  had  failed  to  do. 
When  need  is  repeated,  the  supply  is  forthcoming, 
even  when  it  is  demanded  by  sullen  and  forgetful  dis- 
trust. We  can  wear  out  men's  patience,  but  God's  is 
inexhaustible.  The  same  long-suffering  Hand  that 
poured  water  from  the  rock  for  two  generations  of 
distrustful  murmurers  still  lavishes  its  misused  gifts  on 
us,  to  win  us  to  late  repentance,  *  and  upbraideth  not ' 
for  our  slowness  to  learn  the  lessons  of  His  mercies. 

III.  Note  the  breaking  down  at  last  of  the  long-tried 
leader's  patience.  It  is  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
patience  of  God.  Fsalm^  cvi.  32,  33,  describes  the  sin  of 
Moses  as  twofold ;  namely,  anger  and  speaking  *  un- 
advisedly.' His  harsh  words,  so  unlike  his  pleadings 
on  the  former  occasion  of  rebellion  at  Kadesh,  have 
a  worse  thing  than  an  outburst  of  temper  in  them. 
*  Must  we  fetch  you  water  out  of  the  rock  ? '  arrogates 
to  himself  the  power  of  working  miracles.  He  forgets 
that  he  was  as  much  an  instrument,  and  as  little  a 
force,  as  his  own  rod.  His  angry  scolding  betrays 
wounded    personal    importance,   and    annoyance    at 


vs.  1-13]   THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH     359 

rebellion  against  his  own  authority,  rather  than  grief 
at  the  people's  distrust  of  God,  and  also  a  distinct 
clouding  over  of  his  own  consciousness  of  dependence 
for  all  his  power  on  God,  and  an  impure  mingling  of 
thoughts  of  self.  The  same  turbid  blending  of  anger 
and  self-regard  impelled  his  arm  to  the  passionately 
repeated  strokes,  which,  in  his  heat,  he  substituted  for 
the  quiet  words  that  he  was  bidden  to  speak.  The  Pales- 
tinian Targum  says  very  significantly,  that  at  the  first 
stroke  the  rock  dropped  blood,  thereby  indicating  the 
tragic  sinfulness  of  the  angry  blow.  How  unworthy 
a  representative  of  the  long-suffering  God  was  this 
angry  man !  '  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 
strive,'  nor  give  the  water  with  which  he  is  entrusted, 
with  contempt  or  anger  in  his  heart.  That  gift  requires 
meek  compassion  in  its  stewards. 

But  the  failure  of  Moses'  patience  was  only  too 
natural.  The  whole  incident  has  to  be  studied  as  the 
first  of  a  new  era,  in  which  both  leader  and  led  were 
on  their  trial.  During  the  thirty-seven  years  of  wait- 
ing, Moses  had  had  but  little  exercise  of  that  part 
of  his  functions,  and  little  experience  of  the  people's 
temper.  He  must  have  looked  forward  anxiously  to 
the  result  of  the  desert  hardening ;  he  must  have  felt 
more  remote  from  and  above  the  children  than  he  did 
to  their  parents,  his  contemporaries  who  had  come 
with  him  from  Egypt,  and  so  his  disappointment  must 
have  been  proportionately  keen,  when  the  first  diffi- 
culty that  rose  revealed  the  old  spirit  in  undiminished 
force.  For  forty  years  he  had  been  patient,  and  ready 
to  swallow  mortifications  and  ignore  rebellion  against 
himself,  and  to  offer  himself  for  his  people ;  but  now, 
when  men  whom  he  had  seen  in  their  swaddling-clothes 
showed  the  same  stiff-necked  distrust  as  had  killed 


360  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.  xx. 

their  fathers,  the  breaking-point  of  his  patience  was 
reached.  That  burst  of  anger  is  a  grave  symptom  of 
lessened  love  for  the  sinful  murmurers ;  and  lessened 
love  always  means  lessened  power  to  guide  and  help. 
The  people  are  not  changed,  but  Moses  is.  He  has  no 
longer  the  invincible  patience,  the  utter  self-oblivion, 
the  readiness  for  self-sacrifice,  which  had  borne  him  up 
of  old,  and  so  he  fails.  We  may  learn  from  his  failure 
that  the  prime  requisite  for  doing  God's  work  is  love, 
which  cannot  be  moved  to  anger  nor  stirred  to  self- 
assertion,  but  meets  and  conquers  murmuring  and 
rebellion  by  patient  holding  forth  of  God's  gift,  and 
is,  in  some  faint  degree,  an  echo  of  His  endless  long- 
suffering.  He  who  would  serve  men  must,  sleeping  or 
waking,  carry  them  in  his  heart,  and  pity  their  sin. 
They  who  would  represent  God  to  men,  and  win  men 
for  God,  must  be  '  imitators  of  God  .  .  .  and  walk  in 
love.'  If  the  bearer  of  the  water  of  life  offers  it  with 
'  Hear,  ye  rebels,'  it  will  flow  untasted. 

IV.  Note  the  sentence  on  the  leader,  and  the  sad 
memorial  name.  Moses  is  blamed  for  not  believing 
nor  sanctifying  God.  His  self-assertion  in  his  un- 
advised speech  came  from  unbelief,  or  forgetfulness 
of  his  dependence.  He  who  claims  power  to  himself, 
denies  it  to  God.  Moses  put  himself  between  God  and 
the  people,  not  to  show  but  to  hide  God  ;  and,  instead 
of  exalting  God's  holiness  before  them  by  declaring 
Him  to  be  the  giver,  he  intercepted  the  thanks  and 
diverted  them  to  himself.  But  was  his  momentary 
failure  not  far  too  severely  punished  ?  To  answer  that 
question,  we  must  recur  to  the  thought  of  the  impor- 
tance of  this  event  as  beginning  a  new  chapter,  and  as 
a  test  for  both  Moses  and  Israel.  His  failure  was  a 
comparatively  small  matter  in  itself;  and  if  the  sen- 


vs.  1-13]    THE  WATERS  OF  MERIBAH     361 

tence  is  regarded  merely  as  the  punishment  of  a  sin, 
it  appears  sternly  disproportionate  to  the  offence. 
Were  eighty  years  of  faithful  service  not  sufficient  to 
procure  the  condonation  of  one  moment's  impatience  ? 
Is  not  that  harsh  treatment  ?  But  a  tiny  blade  above- 
ground  may  indicate  the  presence  of  a  poisonous  root, 
needing  drastic  measures  for  its  extirpation ;  and  the 
sentence  was  not  only  punishment  for  sin,  but  kind, 
though  punitive,  relief  from  an  office  for  which  Moses 
had  no  longer,  in  full  m'easure,  his  old  qualifications. 
The  subsequent  history  does  not  show  any  withdrawal 
of  God's  favour  from  him,  and  certainly  it  would  be  no 
very  sore  sorrow  to  be  freed  from  the  heavy  load, 
carried  so  long.  There  is  disapprobation,  no  doubt,  in 
the  sentence  ;  but  it  treats  the  conduct  of  Moses  rather 
as  a  symptom  of  lessened  fitness  for  his  heavy  respon- 
sibility than  as  sin ;  and  there  is  as  much  kindness  as 
condemnation  in  saying  to  the  wearied  veteran,  who 
has  stood  at  his  post  so  long  and  has  taken  up  arms 
once  more, '  You  have  done  enough.  You  are  not  what 
you  were.  Other  hands  must  hold  the  leader's  staff. 
Enter  into  rest.' 

Note  that  Moses  was  condemned  for  doing  what 
Jesus  always  did,  asserting  his  power  to  work  miracles. 
"What  was  unbelief  and  a  sinful  obtrusion  of  himself  in 
God's  place  when  the  great  lawgiver  did  it,  was  right 
and  endorsed  by  God  when  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth 
did  it.  Why  the  difference  ?  A  greater  than  Moses  is 
here,  when  He  says  to  us, '  What  will  ye  that  I  should 
do  unto  you  ? ' 

The  name  of  Meribah-Kadesh  is  given  to  suggest  the 
parallel  and  difference  with  the  other  miraculous  flow 
of  water.  The  two  incidents  are  thus  brought  into 
connection,  and  yet  individualised.     'Meribah,'  which 


362         THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.  xxi. 

means  '  strife,'  brands  the  murmuring  as  sinful  anta- 
gonism to  God  ;  '  Kadesh,'  which  means  *  holy,'  brings 
both  the  miracle  and  the  sentence  under  the  common 
category  of  acts  by  which  God  manifested  His  holiness 
to  the  new  generation;  and  so  the  double  name  is  a 
reminder  of  sin  that  they  may  be  humble,  and  of 
mingled  mercy  and  judgment  that  they  may  *  trust  and 
obey.* 

THE  POISON  AND  THE  ANTIDOTE 

•  And  they  journeyed  from  mount  Hor  by  the  way  of  the  Red  Sea,  to  compass  the 
land  of  Edom :  and  the  soul  of  the  people  was  much  discouraged  because  of  the 
way.  5.  And  the  people  spake  against  God,  and  against  Moses,  Wherefore  have 
ye  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt  to  die  in  the  wilderness?  for  there  is  no  bread, 
neither  is  there  any  water ;  and  our  soul  loatheth  this  light  bread.  6.  And  the  Lord 
sent  fiery  serpents  among  the  people,  and  they  bit  the  people ;  and  much  people 
of  Israel  died.  7.  Therefore  the  people  came  to  Moses,  and  said,  We  have  sinned, 
for  we  have  spoken  against  the  Lord,  and  against  thee ;  pray  unto  the  Lord,  that 
He  take  away  the  serpents  from  us.  And  Moses  prayed  for  the  people.  8.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Make  thee  a  fiery  serpent,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole  :  and  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  one  that  is  bitten,  when  he  looketh  upon  it,  shall 
live.  9.  And  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and  put  it  upon  a  pole,  and  it  came 
to  pass,  that  if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld  the  serpent  of  brass, 
he  lived.'— Num.  xxi.  4-9. 

The  mutinous  discontent  of  the  Israelites  had  some 
excuse  when  they  had  to  wheel  round  once  more  and 
go  southwards  in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  passage 
through  Edom.  The  valley  which  stretches  from  the 
Dead  Sea  to  the  head  of  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Red 
Sea,  down  which  they  had  to  plod  in  order  to  turn  the 
southern  end  of  the  mountains  on  its  east  side,  and 
then  resume  their  northern  march  outside  the  territory 
of  Edom,  is  described  as  a  '  horrible  desert.'  Certainly 
it  yielded  neither  bread  nor  water.  So  the  faithless 
pilgrims  broke  into  their  only  too  familiar  murmur- 
ings,  utterly  ignoring  their  thirty-eight  years  of 
preservation.  '  There  is  no  bread.'  No ;  but  the  manna 
had  fallen  day  by  day.  *  Our  soul  loatheth  this  light 
bread.'    Yes;   but  it  was  bread  all  the  same.    Thus 


vs.  4-9]       POISON  AND  ANTIDOTE  3C3 

coarse  tastes  prefer  garlic  and  onions  to  Heaven's  food, 
and  complain  of  being  starved  while  it  is  provided. 
'  There  is  no  water.'  No ;  but  the  '  rock  that  followed 
them '  gushed  out  abundance,  and  there  was  no  thirst. 

Murmuring  brought  punishment,  which  was  meant 
for  amendment.  *  The  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents.'  That 
statement  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  miracle. 
Scripture  traces  natural  phenomena  directly  to  God's 
will,  and  often  overleaps  intervening  material  links 
between  the  cause  which 'is  God  and  the  effect  which 
is  a  physical  fact.  The  neighbourhood  of  Elath  at 
the  head  of  the  gulf  is  still  infested  with  venomous 
serpents,  *  marked  with  fiery  red  spots,'  from  which,  or 
possibly  from  the  inflammation  caused  by  their  poison, 
they  are  here  called  *  fiery.'  God  made  the  serpents, 
though  they  were  hatched  by  eggs  laid  by  mothers; 
He  brought  Israel  to  the  place ;  He  willed  the  poisonous 
stings.  If  we  would  bring  ordinary  events  into  im- 
mediate connection  with  the  Divine  hand,  and  would 
see  in  all  calamities  fatherly  chastisement  *for  our 
profit,'  we  should  understand  life  better  than  we 
often  do. 

The  swift  stroke  had  fallen  without  warning  or  voice 
to  interpret  it,  but  the  people  knew  in  their  hearts 
whence  and  why  it  had  come.  Their  quick  recognition 
of  its  source  and  purpose,  and  their  swift  repentance, 
are  to  be  put  to  their  credit.  It  is  well  for  us  when  we 
interpret  for  ourselves  God's  judgments,  and  need  no 
Moses  to  urge  us  to  humble  ourselves  before  Him. 
Conscious  guilt  is  conscious  of  unworthiness  to  approach 
God,  though  it  dares  to  speak  to  offended  men.  The 
request  for  Moses'  intercession  witnesses  to  the  instinct 
of  conscience,  requiring  a  mediator, — an  instinct  which 
has  led  to  much  superstition  and  been  terribly  mis- 


364  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS    [ch.xxi. 

guided,  but  which  is  deeply  true,  and  is  met  once  for 
all  in  Jesus  Christ,  our  Advocate  before  the  throne. 
The  request  shows  that  the  petitioners  were  sure  of 
Moses'  forgiveness  for  their  distrust  of  him,  and  thus 
it  witnesses  to  his  '  meekness.'  His  pardon  was  a  kind 
of  pledge  of  God's.  Was  the  servant  likely  to  be  more 
gracious  than  the  Master?  A  good  man's  readiness  to 
forgive  helps  bad  men  to  believe  in  a  pardoning  God. 
It  reflects  some  beam  of  Heaven's  mercy. 

Moses  had  often  prayed  for  the  people  when  they 
had  sinned,  and  before  they  had  repented.  It  was  not 
likely  that  he  would  be  slow  to  do  so  when  they  asked 
him,  for  the  asking  was  accompanied  with  ample  con- 
fession. The  serpents  had  done  their  work,  and  the 
prayer  that  the  chastisement  should  cease  would  be 
based  on  the  fact  that  the  sin  had  been  forsaken.  But 
the  narrative  seems  to  anticipate  that,  after  the  prayer 
had  been  ofPered  and  answered,  Israelites  would  still 
be  bitten.  If  they  were,  that  confirms  the  presumption 
that  the  sending  of  the  serpents  was  not  miraculous. 
It  also  brings  the  whole  facts  into  line  with  the  stand- 
ing methods  of  Providence,  for  the  outward  conse 
quences  of  sin  remain  to  be  reaped  after  the  sin  has 
been  forsaken;  but  they  change  their  character  and 
are  no  longer  destructive,  but  only  disciplinary. 
'  Serpents '  still '  bite '  if  we  have  '  broken  down  hedges,' 
but  there  is  an  antidote. 

The  command  to  make  a  brazen  or  copper  serpent, 
and  set  it  on  some  conspicuous  place,  that  to  look  on  it 
might  stay  the  effect  of  the  poison,  is  remarkable,  not 
only  as  sanctioning  the  forming  of  an  image,  but  as 
associating  healing  power  with  a  material  object.  Two 
questions  must  be  considered  separately, — What  did 
the  method  of  cure  say  to  the  men  who  turned  their 


vs.  4-9]       POISON  AND  ANTIDOTE  865 

bloodshot,  languid  eyes  to  it  ?  and  What  does  it  mean 
for  us,  who  see  it  by  the  light  of  our  Lord's  great 
words  about  it?  As  to  the  former  question,  we  have 
not  to  take  into  account  the  Old  Testament  symbolism 
which  makes  the  serpent  the  emblem  of  Satan  or  of 
sin.  Serpents  had  bitten  the  wounded.  Here  was  one 
like  them,  but  without  poison,  hanging  harmless  on 
the  pole.  Surely  that  would  declare  that  God  had 
rendered  innocuous  the  else  fatal  creatures.  The 
elevation  of  the  serpent  was  simply  intended  to  make 
it  visible  from  afar ;  but  it  could  not  have  been  set  so 
high  as  to  be  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  camp,  and  we 
must  suppose  that  the  wounded  were  in  many  cases 
carried  from  the  distant  parts  of  the  wide-spreading 
encampment  to  places  whence  they  could  catch  a 
glimpse  of  it  glittering  in  the  sunshine.  We  are  not 
told  that  trust  in  God  was  an  essential  part  of  the  look, 
but  that  is  taken  for  granted.  Why  else  should  a  half- 
dead  man  iiri;  his  heavy  eyelids  to  look?  Such  a  one 
knew  that  God  had  commanded  the  image  to  be  made, 
and  had  promised  healing  for  a  look.  His  gaze  was 
fixed  on  it,  in  obedience  to  the  command  involved  in 
the  promise,  and  was,  in  some  measure,  a  manifestation 
of  faith.  No  doubt  the  faith  was  very  imperfect,  and 
the  desire  was  only  for  physical  healing ;  but  none  the 
less  it  had  in  it  the  essence  of  faith.  It  would  have  been 
too  hard  a  requirement  for  men  through  whose  veins 
the  swift  poison  was  burning  its  way,  and  who,  at  the 
best,  were  so  little  capable  of  rising  above  sense,  to 
have  asked  from  them,  as  the  condition  of  their  cure, 
a  trust  which  had  no  external  symbol  to  help  it.  The 
singularity  of  the  method  adopted  witnesses  to  the 
graciousness  of  God,  who  gave  their  feebleness  a  thing 
that  they  could  look  at,  to  aid  them  in  grasping  the 


366         THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS     [ch.xxi. 

unseen  power  which  really  effected  the  cure.  *  He  that 
turned  himself  to  it,'  says  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  *  was 
not  saved  by  the  thing  which  he  saw,  but  by  Thee,  that 
art  the  Saviour  of  all.' 

Our  Lord  has  given  us  the  deepest  meaning  of  the 
brazen  serpent.  Taught  by  Him,  we  are  to  see  in  it  a 
type  of  Himself,  the  significance  of  which  could  not  be 
apprehended  till  Calvary  had  given  the  key.  Three 
distinct  points  of  parallel  are  suggested  by  His  use  of 
the  incident  in  His  conversation  with  Nicodemus. 
First,  He  takes  the  serpent  as  an  emblem  of  Himself. 
Now  it  is  clear  that  it  is  so,  not  in  regard  to  the  saving 
power  that  dwells  in  Him,  but  in  regard  to  His  sinless 
manhood,  which  was  made  'in  the  likeness  of  sinful 
flesh,'  yet  '  without  sin.'  The  symbolism  which  takes 
the  serpent  as  the  material  type  of  sin  comes  into  view 
now,  and  is  essential  to  the  full  comprehension  of  the 
typical  significance  of  the  incident. 

Secondly,  Jesus  laid  stress  on  the  *  lifting  up '  of  the 
serpent.  That  'lifting  up'  has  two  meanings.  It 
primarily  refers  to  the  Crucifixion,  wherein,  just  as  the 
death-dealing  power  was  manifestly  triumphed  over  in 
the  elevation  of  the  brazen  serpent,  the  power  of  sin  is 
exhibited  as  defeated,  as  Paul  says,  'triumphing  over 
them  in  it '  (Col.  ii.  14, 15).  But  that  lifting  up  on  the 
Cross  draws  after  it  the  elevation  to  the  throne,  and 
to  that,  or,  rather,  to  both  considered  as  inseparably 
united,  our  Lord  refers  when  He  says, '  I,  if  I  be  lifted 
up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me.' 

Thirdly,  the  condition  of  healing  is  paralleled.  '  When 
he  looked  unto  the  serpent  of  brass,  he  lived.'  '  That 
whosoever  believeth  may  in  Him  have  eternal  life.' 
From  the  serpent  no  healing  power  flowed ;  but  our 
eternal  life  is  '  in  Him,'  and  from  Him  it  flows  into  our 


vs.  4-9]  BALAAM  367 

poisoned,  dying  nature.  The  sole  condition  of  receiving 
into  ourselves  that  new  life  which  is  free  from  all 
taint  of  sin,  and  is  mighty  enough  to  arrest  the  venom 
that  is  diffused  through  every  drop  of  blood,  is  faith  in 
Jesus  lifted  on  the  Cross  to  slay  the  sin  that  is  slaying 
mankind,  and  raised  to  the  throne  to  bestow  His  own 
immortal  and  perfect  life  on  all  who  look  to  Him.  The 
bitten  Israelite  might  be  all  but  dead.  The  poison 
wrought  swiftly ;  but  if  he  from  afar  lifted  his  glazing 
eyeballs  to  the  serpent  on  the  pole,  a  swifter  healing 
overtook  the  death  that  was  all  but  conqueror,  and 
cast  it  out,  and  he  who  was  borne  half  unconscious 
to  the  foot  of  the  standard  went  away  a  sound  man, 
'walking,  and  leaping,  and  praising  God.'  So  it  may 
be  with  any  man,  however  deeply  tainted  with  sin,  if 
he  will  trust  himself  to  Jesus,  and  from  '  the  ends  of 
the  earth ' '  look  unto '  Him  *  and  be  saved.'  His  power 
knows  no  hopeless  cases.  He  can  cure  all.  He  will 
cure  our  most  ingrained  sin,  and  calm  the  hottest  fever 
of  our  poisoned  blood,  if  we  will  let  Him.  The  only 
thing  that  we  have  to  do  is  to  gaze,  with  our  hearts  in 
our  eyes  and  faith  in  our  hearts,  on  Him,  as  He  is  lifted 
on  the  Cross  and  the  throne.  But  we  must  so  gaze,  or 
we  die,  for  none  but  He  can  cast  out  the  coursing 
venom.  None  but  He  can  arrest  the  swift-footed  death 
that  is  intertwined  with  our  very  natures. 


BALAAM 

'He  sent  messengrers  therefore  unto  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  to  Pethor,  T^hich  is 

by  the  river  of  the  land  of  the  children  of  his  people,  to  call  him,  saying,  Behold 
there  is  a  people  come  out  from  Egypt :  behold,  they  cover  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  they  abide  over  against  me.'— Num.  xxii.  5. 

Give  a  general  outline  of  the  history.  See  Bishop 
Butler's  great  sermon. 


368  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS  [chxxii. 

I.  How  much  knowledge  and  loYfl  "^  Qaa^^ht^rtTmnj 
be  in  a  bad  man, 
/    Balaam  was  a  prophet : 

(a)  He  knew  something  of  the  divine  character. 

(6)  He  knew  what  righteousness  was  (Micah  v.  8). 

(c)  He  knew  of  a  future  state,  and  longed  for  'the 
last  end  of  the  righteous.' 

He  would  not  break  the  law  of  God,  and  curse  by 
word  of  mouth : 

But  yet  for  all  that  he  wanted  to  curse.  He  wanted 
to  do  the  wrong  thing,  and  that  made  him  bad.  And 
when  he  durst  not  do  it  in  one  way,  he  did  it  in  another. 

So  he  is  a  picture  of  the  universal  blending  and 
mixture  that  there  is  even  in  bad  men. 

It  is  not  knowledge  that  makes  a  man  good. 

It  is  not  aspirations  after  righteousness.  These 
dwell  more  or  less  in  all  souls. 

It  is  not  desire  '  to  go  to  heaven ' — everybody  has  that 
desire. 

Perfectly  vicious  men  are  devils.  There  is  always  the 
blending. 

Many  of  us  are  trusting  to  these  vagrant  wishes,  but 
my  friends,  it  is  not  what  a  man  would  sometimes  like, 
but  what  the  whole  set  and  tenor  of  his  life  tends 
towards,  that  makes  him.  There  may  be  plenty  of 
backwater  eddies  and  cross-currents  in  the  sea,  but  the 
tide  goes  on  all  the  same. 

•  All  these  fancies  and  their  whole  array 
One  cunning  bosom  sin  blows  quite  away.' 

'  Let  no  man  deceive  you ;  he  that  doeth  righteousness 
is  righteous.* 

Do  not  trust  your  convictions ;  they  are  powerless  in 
the  fight. 


▼.  5]  BALAAM  869 

II.  How  men  may  deceive  themselves  about  their 
condition,  or  the  self-illusions  and  compromises  of  sin. 

TIlf"^P    ff':?nY^'^^^''^^«    ^^^^    npvpr^    hy    fhpTnsplvpia,   Tcppip 

a  man  from  evil,  but  th^y  rnay  Ipad  men  to  try  to 
compromise,  just  as  Balaam  did_.  He  vrould  go,  but  he 
would  not,  for  the  life  of  him,  curse  ;  and  he  evidently 
thought  that  he  was  a  hero  in  firmnesa  and  a,  martyr 
to  duty. 

He  would  not  curse  in  words,  but  he  did  it  in  another 
way — by  means  of  Baal-peor. 

So^  we  find  men  making  compromises  betwee^^  duty 
and  inclination ;  keeping  the  letter  and  breaking  the 
spirit;  oheying  in  some  respects  and  indemnifying 
themselves  for  their  obP-diftTicfl  by  tbair  digobprlipnnfl 
in  others;  very  devout,  attentive  to  all  religious 
observances,  and  yet  sinning  on.  And  we  find  such 
men  playing  tricks  upon  themselves,  and  really  deluding 
themselves  into  the  idea  that  they  are  very  good  men  ! 

This  is  the  great  characteristic  of  sin,  its  deceitful- 
ness.  It  always  comes  as  an  '  angel  of  light,'  like  some 
of  those  weird  stories  in  which  we  read  about  a  strange 
guest  at  a  banquet  who  discloses  a  skeleton  below  the 
wedding  garment  I 

*  Father  of  lies.'  '  Nihil  imbedllius  denudato  diaholo* 
The  more  one  sins,  the  less  capable  he  becomes  of  dis- 
cerning evil.  Conscience  becomes  sophisticated,  and  it 
is  always  possible  to  refine  away  its  judgments. 

*By  reason  of  use  have  their  senses  exercised  to 
discern.'  'Take  heed  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened 
through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.* 

III.  The  absurdity  and  unreasonableness  of  un- 
righteousness. 

We  look  at  Balaam,  and  think,  how  ^mild  a  man . 
purpose  anythmg  so^olish  as  to  go  on  seeking  for  an 

TTa ■ 


370  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS  [ch.xxii. 

opportunity  to  break  a  law  which  he  knew  to  be  irre- 
yocable ! 

Yet^whatjdid  he  do  but  what  every  sinner  does  ? 

All  sin  is  the  breach  of  law  which  at  the  very  moment 
of  breaking  is  known  to  be  imperative. 

All  sin  is  thus  the  overbearing  of  conscience,  or  the 
sophistication  of  conscience,  and  all  sin  is  the  incurring 
voluntarily  of  consequences  which  at  the  moment  are 
or  might  be  known  to  be  certain,  and  far  overbalancing 
any  fancied  *  wages  of  unrighteousness.' 

Thus  all  sin  is  the  overbearing  of  reason  or  the 
sophisticating  of  reason  by  passion.  Men  know  the 
absurdity  of  sin,  and  yet  men  will  go  on  sinning.  '  A 
rogue  is  a  roundabout  fool.'  All  wrongdoing  is  a  mighty 
blunder.  It  is  only  righteousness  which  is  congruous 
with  a  man's  reason,  with  a  man's  conscience,  with  a 
man's  highest  happiness.  '  The  fear  of  the  Lord,'  that 
is  wisdom. 

IV.  The  wages  of  unrighteousness. 

How  Balaam's  experiment  ended — his  death.  He  tried 
to  make  the  '  best  of  both  worlds,'  so  he  ran  with  the 
hare  and  hunted  with  the  hounds,  and  this  was  how  it 
ended,  as  it  always  does,  as  it  always  will.  How  death 
ends  all  the  illusions,  sternly  breaks  down  all  the  com- 
promises, reveals  all  the  absurdities  ! 

Men  are  one  thing  or  the  other.  Learn,  then,  the 
lesson  that  no  gifts,  no  talents,  no  convictions,  no 
aspirations  will  avail. 

Let  this  sad  figure  which  looks  out  upon  us  with 
grey  streaming  hair  and  uplifted  hands  from  beside 
the  altar  on  Pisgah  speak  to  us. 

How  near  the  haven  it  is  possible  to  be  cast  away  I 
Like  Bunyan's  wayto  liell  from  near  the  gate  of  the 
celestial  city. 


V.  5]        AN  UNFULFILLED  DESIRE        871 

Balaam  said,  '  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  ! ' 
and  his  death  was  thus  : — *  Balaam  they  slew  with  the 
sword,'  and  his  epitaph  is  '  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor, 
who  loved  the  wages  of  unrighteousness,'  got  them, 
and  perished  I 


AN  UNFULFILLED  DESIRE 

' .  . .  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his !  '— 
Num.  xxlii.  10. 

*.  .  .  Balaam  also  the  son  of  Beor  they  slew  with  the  sword.'— Num.  xxxL  8. 

Ponder  these  two  pictures.  Take  the  first  scene.  A 
prophet,  who  knows  God  and  His  will,  is  standing  on 
the  mountain  top,  and  as  he  looks  down  over  the  valley 
beneath  him,  with  its  acacia-trees  and  swift  river, 
there  spread  the  tents  of  Israel.  He  sees  them,  and 
knows  that  they  are  *  a  people  whom  the  Lord  hath 
blessed.'  Brought  there  to  curse,  'he  blesses  them 
altogether ' ;  and  as  he  gazes  upon  their  ordered  ranks 
and  sees  somewhat  of  the  wondrous  future  that  lay 
before  them,  his  mind  is  filled  with  the  thought  of 
all  the  blessedness  of  that  righteous  nation,  and  the 
sigh  of  longing  comes  to  his  lips,  '  May  I  be  with  them 
in  life  and  death;  may  I  have  no  higher  honour,  no 
calmer  end,  than  to  lie  down  and  die  as  one  of  the 
chosen  people,  with  memories  of  a  divine  hand  that 
has  protected  me  all  through  the  past,  and  quiet  hopes 
of  the  same  hand  holding  me  up  in  the  great  dark- 
ness ! '    A  devout  aspiration,  a  worthy  desire  ! 

Look  at  the  other  picture.  Midian  has  seduced 
Israel  to  idolatry  and  its  constant  companion,  sensual 
sin.  The  old  lawgiver  has  for  his  last  achievement  to 
punish  the  idolater.  '  Avenge  the  children  of  Israel  of 
the  Midianites,  afterwards  thou  shalt  be  gathered  to 


372         THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS   [0H.xxin. 

thy  people.'  So  each  tribe  gives  its  contingent  to  the 
fight,  and  under  the  fierce  and  prompt  Phinehas,  whose 
javelin  had  already  smitten  one  of  the  chief  offenders, 
they  go  forth.  Fire  and  sword,  devastation  and  vic- 
tory, mark  their  track.  The  princes  of  Midian  fall 
before  the  swift  rush  of  the  desert-born  invaders.  And 
— sad,  strange  company! — among  them  is  the  'ttian 
who  saw  the  vision  of  the  Almighty,  and  knew  the 
knowledge  of  the  Most  High 'I  he  who  had  taught 
Moab  the  purest  lessons  of  morality,  and  Midian,  alas  I 
the  practice  of  the  vilest  profligacy ;  he  who  saw  from 
afar  '  the  sceptre  arise  out  of  Israel  and  the  Star  from 
Jacob  * ;  he  who  longed  to  *  die  the  death  of  the  right- 
eous'I  The  onset  of  the  avenging  host,  with  the 
♦  shout  of  a  king '  in  their  midst ;  the  terror  of  the 
flight,  the  riot  of  havoc  and  bloodshed,  and,  finally, 
the  quick  thrust  of  the  sharp  Israelite  sword  in  some 
strong  hand,  and  the  grey  hairs  all  dabbled  with  his 
blood — these  were  what  the  man  came  to  who  had  once 
breathed  the  honest  desire,  'Let  me  die  the  death  of 
the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his ' ! 

I,  There  is  surely  a  solemn  lesson  for  us  all  here — as 
touching  the  danger  of  mere  vague  religious  desires 
and  convictions  which  we  do  not  allow  to  determine 
our  conduct. 

Balaam  had  evidently  much  knowledge.  Look  at 
these  points — 

(a)  His  knowledge  of  the  covenant-name  of  God. 

(6)  His  knowledge  of  a  pure  morality  and  a  spiritual 
worship  far  beyond  sacrificial  notions,  and  in  some 
respects  higher  than  the  then  Old  Testament  stand- 
point. 

(c)  The  knowledge  (which  is  implied  in  the  text) 
of  a  future  state,  which  had  gone  far  into  the  back- 


V.  10]       AN  UNFULFILLED  DESIRE        373 

ground,  even  if  it  had  not  been  altogether  lost,  among 
the  Israelites.  Is  it  not  remarkable  that  the  religious 
ideas  of  this  man  were  in  advance  of  Israel's  at  this 
time ;  that  there  seems  to  have  lingered  among  these 
'  outsiders '  more  of  a  pure  faith  than  in  Israel  itself  ? 

What  a  lesson  here  as  to  the  souls  led  by  God  and 
enlightened  by  Him  beyond  the  pale  of  Judaism  I 

But  all  this  knowledge,  of  what  use  was  it  to  Balaam  ? 
He  knows  about  God :  does  he  seek  to  serve  Him  ?  He 
preaches  morality  to  Moab,  and  he  teaches  Midian  to 
•teach  the  children  of  Israel  to  commit  fornication.* 
He  knows  something  of  the  blessedness  of  a  *  righteous 
man's'  death,  and  perhaps  sees  faintly  the  shining 
gates  beyond — but  how  does  it  all  end  ?  What  a  gulf 
between  knowledge  and  life  1 

What  is  the  use  of  correct  ideas  about  God?  They 
may  be  the  foundations  of  holy  thoughts,  and  they  are 
meant  to  be  so.  I  am  not  setting  up  emotion  above 
principle,  or  fancying  that  there  can  be  religion  with- 
out theology ;  but  for  what  are  all  our  thoughts  about 
God  given  us  ? 

(a)  That  they  may  influence  our  hearts. 

(6)  That  they  may  subdue  our  wills. 

(c)  That  they  may  mould  our  practical  life. 

If  they  do  not  do  that — then  what  do  they  do? 

They  constitute  a  positive  hindrance — like  the  dead 
lava-blocks  that  choke  the  mouth  of  a  crater,  or  the 
two  deposits  on  the  bottom  of  a  boiler,  soot  outside 
and  crust  inside,  which  keep  the  fire  from  getting  at 
the  water.  They  have  lost  their  power  because  they 
are  so  familiar.  They  are  weakened  by  not  being 
practised.  The  very  organs  of  intelligence  are,  as  it 
were,  ossified.  Self-complacency  lays  hold  on  the 
possession   of    these  ideas  and  shields  itself   against 


374  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS  [ch.xxiii. 

all  appeals  with  the  fact  of  possessing  them.  Many 
a  man  mistakes,  in  his  own  case,  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth  for  obedience  to  the  truth.  All  this  is  seen 
in  everyday  life,  and  with  reference  to  all  manner 
of  convictions,  but  it  is  most  apparent  and  most 
fatal  about  Christian  truth.  I  appeal  to  the  many 
who  hear  and  know  all  about '  the  word.'  What  more 
is  needed  ?  That  you  should  do  what  you  know  (*  Be 
not  hearers  only') ;  that  you  should  yield  your  whole 
being  to  Christ,  the  living  Word. 

II.  Balaam  is  an  example  of  convictions  which  remain 
inefficacious. 

It  was  not  without  some  sense  of  his  own  character, 
and  some  forebodings  of  what  was  possibly  brooding 
over  him,  that  he  uttered  these  words  of  the  text. 
But  they  were  transitory  emotions,  and  they  passed 
away. 

I  suppose  that  every  man  who  hears  the  gospel  pro- 
claimed is,  at  some  time  or  other,  conscious  of  dawning 
thoughts  which,  if  followed,  would  lead  him  to  decision 
for  Christ.  I  suppose  that  every  man  among  us  is 
conscious  of  thoughts  visiting  him  many  a  time  when 
he  least  expects  them,  which,  if  honestly  obeyed,  would 
work  an  entire  revolution  in  his  life. 

I  do  not  wish  to  speak  as  if  unbelieving  men  were 
the  only  people  who  were  unfaithful  to  their  con- 
sciences, but  rather  to  deal  with  what  is  a  besetting 
sin  of  us  all,  though  it  reaches  its  highest  aggravation 
in  reference  to  the  gospel. 

Such  stings  of  conviction  come  to  us  all,  but  how  are 
they  deadened  ? 

(a)  By  simple  neglect.  Pay  no  attention  to  them; 
do  not  do  anything  in  consequence,  and  they  will 
gradually  disappear.    The  voice  unheard  will  cease  to 


V.  10]      AN  UNFULFILLED  DESIRE        375 

speak.     Non-obedience  to  conscience  will  in  the  end 
almost  throttle  conscience. 

(b)  By  angry  rejection. 

(c)  By  busy  occupation  with  the  outer  world. 
(cZ)  By  sinful  occupation  with  it. 

Then  consider  that  such  dealing  with  our  convictions 
leaves  us  far  worse  men  than  before,  and  if  continued 
will  end  in  utter  insensibility. 

What  should  we  do  with  such  convictions?  Rever- 
ently follow  them.  And  in  so  doing  they  will  grow 
and  increase,  and  lead  us  at  last  to  God  and  peace. 

Special  application  of  all  this  to  our  attitude  towards 
Christian  truth. 

III.  Balaam  is  an  instance  of  wishes  that  are  never 
fulfilled. 

He  wished  to  die  '  as  the  righteous.'  How  did  he  die  ? 
miserably ;  and  why  ? 

(1)  Because  his  wish  was  deficient  in  character. 

It  was  one  among  a  great  many,  feeble  and  not  pre- 
dominant, occasioned  by  circumstances,  and  so  fading 
when  these  disappeared.  Like  many  men's  relation  to 
the  gospel  who  would  like  to  be  Christians,  and  are  not. 
These  vagrant  wishes  are  nothing ;  mere  *  catspaws '  of 
wind,  not  a  breeze.  They  are  not  real,  even  while  they 
last,  and  so  they  come  to  nothing. 

(2)  Because  it  was  partially  wrong  in  its  object. 

He  was  willing  to  die  the  death,  but  not  to  live  the 
life,  of  the  righteous;  like  many  men  who  would  be 
very  glad  to  '  go  to  heaven  when  they  die,'  but  who  will 
not  be  Christians  while  they  live. 

Now,  God  forbid  that  I  should  say  that  his  wish  was 
wrong !  But  only  it  was  not  enough.  Such  a  wish  led 
to  no  action. 

Now,  God    hears  the  faintest  wish;    He  does    not 


376  THE  BOOK  OF  NUMBERS   [ch.  xxiii. 

require  that  we  should  will  strongly,  but  He  does 
require  that  we  should  desire,  and  that  we  should  act 
according  to  our  desires. 

Let  the  close  be  a  brief  picture  of  a  righteous  death. 
And  oh!  if  you  feel  that  it  is  blessed,  then  let  that 
desire  lead  you  to  Christ,  and  all  will  be  well.  Re- 
member that  Bunyan  saw  a  byway  to  hell  at  the 
door  of  the  celestial  city.  Remember  how  Balaam 
ended,  and  stands  gibbeted  in  the  New  Testament  as 
an  evil  man,  and  the  type  of  false  teachers.  Finally, 
beware  of  knowledge  which  is  not  operative  in  conduct, 
of  convictions  which  are  neglected  and  pass  away,  of 
vague  desires  which  come  to  nought. 


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